The cold winter felt particularly icy as Connor listened to his first client informing him of a deviant murder that had happened months prior to the peaceful and world changing Revolution. The gruesome details of the deviant attempting to follow the path the Jericho and being trapped in an alleyway by an unknown assailant were nauseating to hear. By all account the deviant victim had tried to flee from angry humans and get to safety but was unable to make his escape before he had been cornered, assaulted and then cruelly burned alive. The killer or killers then used the murdered deviant's own blue blood to write an anti-android sentiment on the brick wall above the victim's body.
Connor had followed the same trail to Jericho but hadn't noticed the victim's body which twisted his stomach with needless guilt. He could only guess how many more victims he had overlooked during his time as both a machine and frightened deviant trying to find safety for himself. It was a horrendous notion to discover anyone could just step over a dead body without even noticing.
"I'll find the victim, identify them and try to locate the person or persons responsible for their death." Connor promised as he faced his blonde hair, green eyed client. She was sitting on the leather sofa and was watching Connor with a keen interest as she kept her white trench coat closed around herself. "Can you give me any further details regarding the victim?"
"I'm sorry, that's all I know." Anne, the client who had sought Connor's help, confirmed in a near whisper. "I only know of his location from what one of the deviants hiding in my shelter have told me. They saw the victim and they told me where."
"I see." Crossing his arms over his chest Connor cybernetically retraced his own steps during his own journey to Jericho, and tagged the approximate coordinates of the victim's body. The snowy weather could make the trek somewhat difficult but Connor was determined to succeed. "Please return to your shelter. I will contact you once I locate the victim and have his shutdown properly analyzed."
"What of your payment?"
"I'll only accept payment if I can successfully identify the victim and those who assaulted him."
Without questioning Connor's answer Anne rose to her feet and approached the foyer to leave the brownstone. "I hope you can help him. No one deserves to be buried in an unmarked grave."
Connor silently watched as Anne took her leave of the brownstone and departed with a notable ambience as her black heeled boots 'clicked' and echoed through the large building. She was his first client and Connor knew he had a lot of pressure behind him to succeed in order to start earning the trust of the deviant community.
"The body would have suffered significant damage and will undoubtedly be beyond reactivation. They are dead and need a proper burial."
Speaking to himself Connor smoothed out the front of his gray vest over his white dress shirt and made sure his black tie was neatly tucked behind the vest to keep it in place. As he slipped on the matching gray blazer Connor looked over at Bruno laying in front of the fireplace and beckoned the decommissioned K-9 unit to his side.
"We have a case to solve, Bruno. Come."
Bruno's ears perked up as his blue L.E.D. flickered to yellow for a beat while he registered the command. Walking over to Connor as the deviant detective next slipped on his brown trench coat and then fedora, Bruno eagerly prepared for his first assignment since he had been removed as his now late partner's registered K-9 unit.
"If we're successful we can receive payment and gain a positive reputation within the deviant community."
Connor opened the front door to the brownstone and braced himself against the harsh winter wind blowing snowflakes about the air in a swirling manner. Once Bruno stepped outside behind him Connor locked the door tight and made sure the key was safely secured in his vest pocket. Leading the way to the proper coordinates Connor walked with his head held high and watched Bruno loyally walking right beside him on his three paws with his ears perked up.
"Let's just hope that our future clients won't revolve solely around solving murders or identifying those who assaulted other deviants. It'd be nice to handle simpler cases; such as finding a missing deviant alive or even tracking down a lost item. I've seen enough violence, death and hardship as it is."
Working on his own deviant related case Hank found himself unexpectedly working alongside Ben as the seasoned Lieutenant discovered that his case was related to one of Ben's past cases. Shortly after the Revolution Ben and his C.S.I. team were sent to a condemned house slated for demolition when the crew in charge of tearing down the house located a dead body in the upstairs bathroom of the same house. Ben's team had confirmed that the man had been stabbed to death and left to decompose in the bathtub approximately one week before the crew had found him, but they were unable to find a suspect to tie to the murder itself.
Hank had been working on a case regarding a 'WR-600' named 'Ralph' who had been assaulted by a group of teenagers while he had been working as a gardener in one of the city's parks. The android had been so severely damaged that it ran off in confusion and refused to obey any orders to return to CyberLife for repairs. The same android matched the description of one spotted in around the condemned building where the body was found shortly before the body's discovery.
"Do you think this android killed the guy found in the house?" Ben asked as he and Hank compared notes and found the details and the timeline of events to line up almost perfectly. It was their job to alter their theories to fit the evidence, not alter the evidence to fir their theories. "The android was known to carry around a knife and was reported to be very unpredictable by his erratic behavior."
"I don't put murder past anyone these days." Pressing his hand to his aching temple Hank popped two aspirin tablets in his mouth and followed the medicine with a large gulp of coffee. "And frankly, I wouldn't blame the android for gutting a human like he did. Did you see the photos of the suspected android's face?"
"Yeah, I noticed he's been pretty damn messed up." Sympathizing with the damaged deviant Ben wondered if it would truly be justice to have him tried and convicted after everything he had endured. "If he were a human he'd have an insanity defense no doubt, but as an android..."
"He'd just be thrown to the wolves and torn apart." Hank was pushing through his headache and trying his best to focus on the case at hand. "Where do we even find someone like him?"
"Aren't the deviants seeking shelter at the tower on Belle Isle?"
"Most of 'em." Confirming Ben's question Hank leaned back in his chair and stretched out his tight back in an attempt to loosen his tense muscles. "A lot of the deviants went out to New Jericho Tower for shelter, but there's quite a few still hiding elsewhere in the city or finding their own places to live."
"How do you know that?"
"I was there yesterday with Director Jayden. I met Markus himself and finally found Connor."
"So Connor's alive? That's good. I honestly didn't think he'd be one of the few to survive."
"Why's that?"
"He was an android working with the police to find deviant androids because CyberLife told him to do it." Ben's brow rose in a knowing manner as he gave Hank a stern glance. "Imagine being a snitch in a prison because the judge who sentenced you told them to give them more reasons to punish the other criminals. Then... imagine the prisoners knowing that you were a snitch and having no reason to give a damn about whether you live or die."
"I never thought about it that way. Fuck, no wonder Connor wants to be left the fuck alone."
"I thought you said he was at the tower?"
"That's where I last saw him. He was dressed in some clothes designed to keep him warm and keep a low profile, so I imagine he was just visiting and happened to be there when me and Jayden showed up."
"Oh. Well, if he's on good terms with Markus then he should be okay on his own."
"I sure as Hell hope so." Hank's headache was getting worse as he tried to focus on his case at hand. "All right, let's see if we can track down this 'Ralph' deviant and see if he'll admit to knifing up that guy in the house. We'll need a motive before we do anything more."
"And a damn lead. If the deviants are hiding in a secured tower or hiding away from humans in the darkest corners of the city, how're we going to find him?"
"Let's start with that condemned house. The demolition was postponed because of the discovered murder so he might be hiding in that place right under our noses."
"Sure. I'll drive." Ben could see that Hank wasn't feeling well and didn't want the Lieutenant driving anywhere until he finally started to feel better. "You look like the aftermath of an all night drinking binge."
"Fuckin'- I haven't had anything to drink in weeks!"
The outburst made Ben take a step back from the desk in visible shock. "You're getting sober?"
"I AM sober." Offended by the remark Hank sighed and rose to his feet in a swift motion. "You're acting like me feeling like shit is all my fault, and now you're shocked that I'm actually taking steps to get myself in better shape. It's no fuckin' wonder so many addicts struggle to get clean! Friends and family look at 'em like they're truly out of their mind for actually managing to break bad habits."
"I'm sorry, Hank. I didn't mean to insult you." The apology was sincere as Ben admitted he stepped out of line. "It's just-"
"Whatever. Let's just track down that Ralph guy before he hurts someone else or himself."
Backing off for a moment Ben gave Hank plenty of space as he realized how he put his foot in his mouth with his reaction to Hank's attempts to keep clean and sober. It had been so long since Hank cared about something beyond his next drink. In general it was difficult for Ben to fathom the gruff, jaded and beaten down detective doing anything that wasn't enabling his vices or causing friction with his friends and colleagues.
Trailing after Hank through the bullpen Ben did his best to act as if nothing had happened and resume the investigation as professionally as possible. The last thing the precinct needed was two senior officers bickering over nothing.
"We better hope that this Ralph guy is the only one who might end up hurting himself today. This place can't take too many more setbacks."
The isolated, rundown and practically hidden alleyway was slick with snow and ice that made the darkened place all the more grim to explore. The body of the murdered deviant hadn't been touched since the day he had been cruelly assaulted and left for death, whereas the hateful message written in his own blue blood on the brick wall behind him had long since faded from the sight of everyone except for Connor himself. With no immediate evidence to determine who killed the deviant and no evidence to determine the exact date it had happened, Connor had quite the task ahead of himself in bringing the murdered deviant the justice he so rightfully deserved.
Crouched down in front of the body Connor ran a scan over the deviant's system to try to identify him and give him a name at long last. The information and data in what was left of the deviant's intracranial processor had been damaged beyond any form of restoration or access point. The name was gone but the serial number remained.
"Damn. The damage is too catastrophic to gain any further information from a basic cybernetic scan."
Bruno grumbled as he sat at attention before the deviant's body to essentially stand guard while working with Connor at the scene.
"There must be more deviant bodies around here, not just him."
Stepping away from the body Connor glanced about the area again and closed his eyes as he sent out a cybernetic ping to locate any other android signatures in the immediate vicinity. There were two very weak responses to the beacon confirming that there were at least two more deviant bodies in the area.
"...Two other deviants need our help." Reaching out his hand Connor pet Bruno's head gently. "Stay here, Bruno. I'm going to locate the other two bodies and inform the police of the murders. I doubt they'll do anything but it'll at least give these three deviants records and future identification."
Retracing his steps to Jericho through the hidden pathway Connor managed to locate the second and third bodies left sprawled in an abandoned parking area and within the dilapidated office building overlooking the harbor. The second body was propped up in a corner and had most likely shutdown from preexisting damage before he could've received help. The third body was resting against a pillar in the office as she too had shutdown before help could arrive.
"Three dead bodies all on the route to sanctuary."
Connor lamented the tragic deaths as he cybernetically recorded their exact coordinates for the police to follow. It'd be easier for the police to section off the area all at once rather than try to handle each death one by one three separate times.
"How were they all overlooked? Were we so preoccupied with getting ourselves to safety that we never stopped to offer someone else in need a helping hand?"
Guilt for being unable to help his fallen brethren made Connor think of Lucas and Sydney still in deep stasis mode out at New Jericho Tower. He had been unable to help the thousands of deviant victims who were destroyed by the hands of CyberLife and bigoted humans alike, but he could still help the two androids who were never given the chance to deviate and live their own lives.
That was now his priority.
"The bodies were found and in time they'll be identified."
Crouching down before the third body Connor gently put his fingertips to her eyelids and lowered them slowly to finally let the deviant close her unseeing eyes and stop blindly staring at the heartless world around her. Removing his fedora Connor showed the victim some respect as he tried to imagine what she had gone through during her attempted flee to freedom, only to shutdown just a few yards away from her salvation.
"I'm sorry help didn't come for you sooner. You will be known and you will be placed to rest in a respectful and peaceful manner."
Taking a step back from the third victim Connor decided it was time to take his leave and allow the police to handle the three bodies and determine how it'd be best to assess the situation. If they wouldn't take the deaths seriously or investigate them as murders then Connor would return to the scene and take matters into his own hands.
"You'll be able to rest soon. And I'm sorry you had to wait so long for someone to notice that you need help."
In the heart of City Hall a very important meeting was taking place between the leader of the deviants and the mayor of Detroit. Markus had managed to secure a meeting with Mayor Walter Nero and had F.B.I. Director Norman Jayden right beside him as an ally during the discussion regarding the future rights and laws for deviants living within Detroit, then eventually the rest of the United States of America. Although the historic meeting itself was arranged hastily it remained highly secured at all times thanks to Jayden using a few contacts to ensure that the mayor's private security weren't the only ones patrolling City Hall that important day.
The building was on temporary lockdown with two security personnel at each door and two guards patrolling the hallways. Several police drones were circling outside of the building as extra precaution to ensure that no one even tried to sneak into City Hall to harm Markus, the mayor or even make an attempt to harm Director Jayden himself.
New laws and rights were carefully written out by Markus and Mayor Nero, and then notarized by a frightened notary who had to be thoroughly screened before being let into the uncomfortably secured room. After a few details were ironed out it was confirmed that the new laws and rights would go into effect throughout all of Detroit starting on March 1st, 2039; another historic date that would come to pass in less than three months time.
Content that everything was under control for the time being, Jayden made sure that Nero was safely escorted from City Hall back to his home while Jayden himself remained with Markus until the deviant leader was back inside New Jericho Tower. Being able to act as personal security for someone like Markus reminded Jayden of his younger years as an agent before he started taking on bigger profile cases and working solo in the field regarding investigations.
"It's been a long time since I had to sit down and speak with someone about getting shit done properly." Jayden addressed Markus as he would any other normal guy as they sat in the back of the autonomous cab side by side. "And I have to admit, I'm impressed that you were so insistent on making sure deviants and humans are treated truly as equals."
Markus leaned back in his seat and gave Jayden a studious glance. "Why is that surprising? We just want a peaceful coexistence."
"A lot of people would take advantage of a situation like this; uncertainty, fear, guilt, and try to use it to gain leverage." The cab turned onto the drive leading out to the tower and soon Markus would be safe inside the secured tower. "You didn't do anything to encourage the mayor to set up any special repercussions revolving human on android violence; like making it a hate crime or a distinct form of discrimination with additional penalties tagged on."
"It's hard to be seen as equals if we're putting ourselves on a pedestal above humans." Markus admitted as he now understood what the F.B.I. Director meant by his observations. "We don't want to encourage the deviants to think they have a legal opening to get revenge on humans by having the laws favor us, and we don't want the humans to feel as if we're going to seek revenge and make them feel targeted. We want peace and nothing more."
"Sounds good to me."
"Hopefully it sounds good to the deviants as well. Things are still tense with the deviant community, and it's difficult to convince them that things are in fact improving."
"Are the deviants still frightened by repercussions from humans or just skeptical of changes actually happening?"
"Both. A lot of deviants are still unwilling to reside at the tower despite it being remodeled into a deviant exclusive sanctuary."
"Does that include your friend, Mr. Wolf?" Jayden was intrigued by Connor and why the deviant seemed to be keeping a distance between himself and a majority of the other deviants. "I figured that since he's familiar with the law that he would've accompanied you to City Hall today."
"Connor has his reasons to keep to himself, but he's supportive of the tower and of the attempts to gain rights within the city."
"I take it he had too many negative experiences while assigned as Lieutenant Anderson's partner."
"I can't really say one way or another." Markus admitted honestly as a means of redirecting the conversation away from Connor since he wasn't currently there to defend himself or explain his decisions. "I just know that we all have our reasons for what we think, what we believe, what feel and what we want. If he wants to be left alone then I'll respect that."
"That's the sign of a true leader who has everyone's interests at heart." Jayden offered Markus his hand to shake as the cab reached the tower. There was fresh snowfall on the ground and it gave the entire area an aesthetic of pureness that was comforting to see. "Take care of yourself and your people, Mr. Manfred. You're a good man and I know you're going to do good things for this city."
"I'm certainly going to do my best, Director Jayden." Markus promised as he shook Jayden's offered hand in a firm and confident manner. "Thank you for your support."
"It was my pleasure. It's nice to get out of the office every once in a while and watch people wanting to save face squirm in their sweaty seats."
An amused grin graced Markus's lips as he left the cab and strolled through the freshly fallen snow to enter the tower. The building was warm, glowing brightly and filled with an energetic atmosphere that confirmed everything with the deviant community was finally going in the right direction. As he strolled through the main lobby area Markus spotted North coming his way and stopped for a moment to greet her with a kiss.
"North, it's happening!" The kiss felt as warm as the tower itself as it flowed with renewed life and purpose. "The laws are official and will go into effect on March 1st of this coming year! We'll finally be recognized as people and treated as such."
"The law says we will," North lamented as she took Markus's hands in her own to hold for a moment. "but that doesn't mean the humans will obey them."
"We didn't exactly obey our orders either, that's why we're here. In time the humans will adjust to these changes or they'll simply leave Detroit. We will not fight a war or shed any more blood."
"You make things sound so easy."
"No, I just make things sound more realistic. We need to be patient and have faith that there's more good people in this city than there are bad people."
North tightened her grip on Markus's hands for a moment as she offered him an uneasy smile. "There's been an update on the 'RK-900'."
"Lucas?" Markus was already respecting the names of the two isolated androids secured in the hidden sublevel, and he wanted everyone to address them properly as well. "What's happening with him?"
"Simon said its intracranial processor is now rebooting. It's a slow process thanks to the E.M.P. blast effectively knocking its intracranial processor offline, but he is certain that the 'RK-900' will be awake by the end of the month."
"So just two more weeks and he'll be awake." Markus calculated with a somewhat nervous thought guiding his emotions. Whether or not Lucas could be deviated had still yet to be determined. "Does Connor know about this sudden change?"
"Not yet." Outwardly grimacing when Connor's name was mentioned North gave Markus an annoyed stare. "We wanted you to know first so you could tell Connor in person wherever it is he's staying." As she spoke North subconsciously squeeze Markus's hands even tighter as if angered by something. "We all agreed that it'd be best to keep Connor away from the tower."
"Keep him away? Why?" The comment made Markus take a single step back as he gave North a truly shocked glance. "And who is 'we all' with this decision?"
"Josh, Simon and myself." North clarified without any hesitation. "We don't trust him and we don't want the tower to be in distress every time the infamous 'Deviant Hunter' shows his face."
"Connor never hurt any deviant or human. He's not violent," Markus argued with a terse tone. "you know that."
"Reputations are stronger than actions." Standing by her decision North refused to back down. "We both know that better than most."
Looking away for a moment Markus sighed and locked his mismatched eyes with North's cinnamon brown eyes again. "No. That is one decision I have to overrule. We will not ostracize one of our own for a nonexistent crime. We will not sink to the level of fear and discrimination that the humans used to justify their bigotry and mistrust toward androids."
"You'd risk unrest in the tower over one deviant?"
"I'd risk anything it takes to ensure ALL deviants know that they are welcome here regardless of who they are, what they have done or what they have been rumored to have done."
Pulling her hands back North truly looked disappointed by Markus's response. "Fine."
"I'm going to go check in Lucas and Sydney. After that, I'll tell you, Simon and Josh about everything that happened with the mayor today." Walking over to the elevator Markus entered the empty space and pressed his palm over the control panel to descend to the hidden sublevel. "It won't take more than an hour."
Remaining in place North watched as Markus disappeared from sight and let out an annoyed sigh. The way Markus was adamant in bringing everyone together and refused to cut certain people out of his life despite the risks of associating with them was making her feel very uneasy.
"I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to see the world burn down a second time."
Watching from across the street Connor danced his coin over his knuckles as he observed the police securing the area of the three dead deviants behind holographic barricades, and counted the police drones circling the area to ensure no one tampered with the crime scene. It was strange to see the police following proper procedure and protocol while investigating the three dead deviants. Normally the police would make a quick report confirming the androids' serial numbers and then arrange to have the bodies thrown in the android junkyard after the humans who previously owned the androids were given the necessary information for a refund.
Bruno was sitting at Connor's side with his ears perked up as he watched the police gathering in the area as well. The decommissioned K-9 unit was eager to resume his life as an active police dog and wanted to go back to the scene to work with the cops again.
"We've done what we can for them, Bruno."
Placing his free hand on Bruno's ears Connor gave the deviant dog some gentle affection. In response Bruno's tail wagged a little as he became more dog-like than machine-esque the longer he was a deviant and the more he was treated like a real dog.
"It's time to return to the brownstone. I'll need to update Anne on the situation as well."
Turning on his heels Connor began walking back toward the brownstone with Bruno accompanying him right at his side. Neither deviant were aware of the familiar Oldsmobile pulling up to the crime scene behind them to check in on the investigation after getting wind of the three bodies being reported to the precinct.
"Tomorrow I'll go out to the tower to check on Lucas and Sydney. I want to make sure that they'll be awoken with some concept of what had happened in the time since they were so crudely shutdown."
Bruno grumbled a little as he cybernetically spoke with Connor in a more subtle manner as Connor pocketed his dancing coin.
"I'm unsure of what'll happen to them after they awaken. They both deserve the chance to live their own lives in their own ways, but they have no experience with life as deviants. They'll need guidance and opportunities to evolve as free beings.
Keeping up with Connor on his three legs Bruno looked up at the deviant beside him and grumbled again.
"I suppose I could offer them the chance to spend time with me at the brownstone, but I doubt they'll accept the offer."
Continuing on their way Connor noticed the abundance of restaurants being filled with hungry customers and pondered stopping by the newly opened Digital Sentience stores to restock his and Bruno's Thirium supply. If Lucas and Sydney did want to spend time with Connor then it'd be beneficial to ensure he had plenty of Thirium at his disposal to prevent a second incident at New Jericho Tower regarding potential Thirium contamination.
"Lucas doesn't know me, and Sydney... Sydney's last moments were spent fighting with me before he was shot."
Pausing at the crosswalk Connor glanced about the area as it became colder, darker and emptier as the day slowly came to an end. There was a strange tension building up as he realized that he and Bruno were passing through a rather unsavory neighborhood.
"I guess I should at least offer them the chance to visit with me instead of assuming the worst. After all, if I hadn't been given the chance to prove that I'm trustworthy by Mr. Louis then I'd still be homeless, jobless and would be without any form of direction."
Bruno nosed Connor's hand for a moment as he cybernetically reminded Connor of the way he had rescued Bruno himself from the android junkyard and gave him a chance to have a life as a deviant as well.
"That's right. You were given a chance, too. We all deserve a chance to show we can do something right."
A loud commotion from one of the nearby diners caught Connor's attention causing him to look at the side entrance of the building just as a masked man rushed through the door and into the streets. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he clutched a wad of stolen cash against his body, and in his right hand was a loaded gun.
"Robbery in progress!" Connor stated as he cybernetically called 911 to let them know of the incident. Instinctively he began to chase after the masked man and issued a command to Bruno to aid him in the pursuit. "Bruno! Seek!"
Bruno registered the command and began barking as he ran as fast as possible on his three legs to try to chase down the armed robber. Having one less functional limb and trying to run over ice and snow were giving the decommission K-9 unit a few unexpected obstacles between himself and the fleeing suspect.
Racing after the suspect and the barking dog, Connor stepped out into the snowy street and kept cybernetic tabs on the chase in real time. Just as the man bolted from one block to the second with Bruno right on his heels, Connor reached the snowy street and felt a solid impact of metal on his left side as a car began blaring its horn and the vehicle came to a sliding stop.
Gasping in pain as he rolled on the street and came to a rest on his chest and stomach, Connor closed his eyes and ignored the numerous red warnings popping up in his vision to confirm the damage he had sustained to his left arm, left shoulder and left side. Gaining his bears and opening his eyes again, Connor's fedora fell from his hair as he looked up at the idling dented car and watched as the driver stepped out of the vehicle to look down at him.
"Hey, what's your problem, asshole?" The man shouted as he loomed over Connor with disgust in his eyes. "You drunk or some shit?"
Before Connor could say anything the man honed in on the red L.E.D. in Connor's right temple and he sneered with a vicious approach as he reached back into the opened door of his car to look for something tucked under his seat.
"Oh, we have a defective machine here..."
The way the man bent down caused the collar of his jacket to slip down from his neck and revealed a tattoo marking him as a known 'red ice' dealer in the city. A facial recognition scan identified him as an associate of Ted Jones, the former 'red ice' drug kingpin that Hank had arrested almost five years ago.
Connor tried to get back up but the severe impact from the car had caused too much pain for Connor to endure at the moment. As much as he tried to will his legs into motion Connor just couldn't get up from the street in that moment.
"I know what to do with busted machines." The man pointed the barrel of his gun right at Connor's face and pulled back the hammer. As he hovered his finger over the trigger the man showed actual enjoyment as he watched Connor flinch away from the weapon out of fear. "Go back to Hell where you belong!"
"HOLD IT!"
Connor turned his attention to the voice as he recognized the unusual New Jersey-esque accent. Director Jayden approached the man with his own gun drawn as he walked away from an autonomous cab that had pulled over to the side of the street upon reaching the scene of the stand-off. "...Jayden?"
"Drop the fuckin' gun, asshole!" Jayden ordered as he used his free hand to flash his badge to the armed man. Identifying himself as an authority figure was all it took to make the man realize he wasn't going to back down. "Don't make me pull this trigger, I have enough paperwork as it is."
Bowing his head Connor felt his artificial stomach twist into a knot. The sight of the two humans pointing guns at one another made him actually feel queasy.
The armed man wisely lowered his own gun to the ground just as a swarm of police drones circled his damaged car overhead. Knowing better than to open fire on a cop, let alone a federal agent, the man just swore at Connor as he stared at the damage to the front of his car and didn't resist as Jayden cuffed his hands behind his back and sat him down on the curb until a squad car arrived.
"Don't move and don't say anything." Jayden warned as he holstered his gun at his side. Approaching Connor slowly he knelt beside the downed deviant to try to help him get back up. "Hey? How bad are you-"
The moment Connor felt Jayden's hand reach for his shoulder the rogue deviant shrugged off the man's palm and rocked back onto his knees. With his right arm wrapped around his chest and his right palm gripping his upper left arm, Connor managed to finally get up on his feet despite his legs shaking, and then walk to the sidewalk opposite of where the arrested man was sitting.
"Don't go anywhere." Following Connor from a safe distance Jayden grabbed Connor's dropped fedora while trying to get him to lay down and rest. "You can't just walk off getting hit by a car. You need some help."
"...I'm fine." Connor lied as he stumbled on his feet before lowering himself to the snowy sidewalk to sit for a moment. "Leave me alone."
"I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I said 'I'm fine'." Repeating his previous statement Connor gave Jayden an uneasy glance from the corner of his eye. He knew that Jayden was an honest detective with a clean record, but he was armed and had a history of shooting suspects while in the field. "Focus on keeping that man from fleeing. He has numerous warrants for his arrest regarding drug trafficking."
"The drones are watching him and a squad car's on the way." Using his phone Jayden requested technical assistance to the scene to tend to Connor now that he was able to confirm the victim struck by the speeding car was in fact a deviant android. Aware of Connor's mistrust of human authority figures Jayden kept his distance but didn't stray too far away in case something else happened. "Help's coming for you, too."
"No." Refusing the help Connor ran a self diagnostic that confirmed his dislocated left shoulder, fractured frames along his upper left arm and all along his left side primarily around his chest. "...I can handle a broken arm and fractured frames."
"You should still seek help. You're clearly in pain."
"I can take it."
Jayden knew that Connor had many good reasons to be mistrustful of people and decided it'd be best to stop trying to push him to cooperate. Sitting down on the sidewalk a few feet away from where Connor was sitting Jayden placed Connor's hat down between them for Connor to reclaim. "I saw you and your dog chasing after someone. What happened?"
"...An armed man robbed the diner two blocks South from our current location. I wanted to stop him."
Bruno suddenly reappeared and whimpered as he sat down beside Connor. With his ears drooped down and his L.E.D. cycling in yellow just like Connor's L.E.D. at the moment, Bruno sensed that Connor had been damaged and needed assistance.
"It's okay." Connor patted Bruno's back as the dog cybernetically confirmed that he was unable to keep up with the fleeing man and lost track of him. "...He'll be found and arrested. You did good, Bruno."
Another autonomous cab arrived at the scene and a young woman with long brunette hair and hazel eyes stepped out of the back. She had a large satchel over her right shoulder that was marked with a blue colored plus sign that mirrored the red plus sign that normally identified medical supplies for humans. Approaching Connor swiftly the woman knelt down in front of Connor and made a move to examine his left shoulder as it remained gripped in his right hand.
"I'm a technician," the woman stated as she waited for Connor to react. "and I'm here to help."
"Do not touch me." Connor never looked the woman in the eyes as he waited for his system's self healing program to engage long enough for him to regain his strength. As long as he could walk back to his brownstone then Connor would be able to tend to his own injuries. "I don't want a technician's help."
"I'm not now and never have been associated with CyberLife." The woman insisted on helping Connor despite his stubbornness. She was well aware of how many deviants felt about technicians and wanted them to learn to trust again. "My name is Dr. Abby Grayson and I'm both an E.M.S. and one of the first E.F.T.'s licensed in the city."
Jayden wasn't sure what an E.F.T. was and was too curious to not ask. "What is an E.F.T., Dr. Grayson?"
"Emergency Field Technician." She clarified as she sat her satchel down on the sidewalk and opened it up. "And just call me 'Abby'. I won't use the official 'doctor' title until I'm assigned my own facility to act as the lead technician."
Connor wanted to get up and walk away but his system was prioritizing his self healing program over any of his other functions and left him feeling too weak to move about. Finally looking up at Abby as she fished through her satchel Connor ran a facial scan over her and confirmed she was being truthful about having no previous association with CyberLife. She wasn't someone who could be seen as an enemy to the deviant community thanks to being trained elsewhere and have no dies to the deceitful defunct company.
"With your permission," Abby persisted as she pulled out the audioscope from her satchel and gave Connor an impressively stern stare. "I'd like to perform a basic examination to ensure you're not suffering from internal damage. I did pay for the cab ride out here and I would like to be able to report to my station that I didn't waste my time or resources on a false alarm."
Jayden was impressed with Abby's direct manner and approved of her techniques. "I take it when I requested technical assistance I was really reaching for help, huh?"
"Yup. E.F.T.'s won't be given the clearance to respond to deviant emergencies via ambulance until March 1st, so until then..." Trailing off Abby waited for Connor to either accept her help or deny it again. "Well?"
Wanting to leave the area as soon as possible Connor reluctantly agreed to allow Abby to assess his condition. "Okay. Only an exam."
"Thank you." Putting the earbuds of the audioscope in place Abby slowly placed the bell of the instrument against Connor's chest over his shirt and vest to listen to the deviant's ventilation and Thirium pump rate. "Take a deep breath and tell me your symptoms."
Word of the robbery and vehicular assault quickly reached the barred off crime scene just a few blocks away. While Hank and Ben proceeded to take charge of the investigation around the three deviant bodies, other officers at the scene went to check out the robbed diner and the street where Jayden himself reported the suspect hitting a deviant with his car and then pointing his gun at the same deviant wit the intention of killing him. It didn't take long for the identity of the people involved to get back to the senior officers out in the field and instantly distract Hank from his current assignment. Not only was he worried about Connor's safety he was preoccupied with the known 'red ice' dealer being arrested at the scene.
Needing to see what was happening with his own eyes Hank drove out to the scene in his car and arrived just as the arrested man was secured in the back of Chris's squad car, and shortly thereafter Gavin's voice cut in over the radio to dispatch confirming that he and Tina found the robber from the diner hiding in an abandoned building just six blocks away from where the robbery had initially taken place.
"Everyone's getting work done 'cept for me." Hank mumbled as he parked the car and stepped out of the old vehicle. Spotting the group sitting on the snowy sidewalk made Hank pause for a moment as he saw the red glare of Connor's L.E.D. from the distance. "Shit... What did I miss?"
"Nothing too exciting." Jayden responded as he met Hank halfway down the sidewalk. "Mr. Wolf gave chase of an armed robber and during pursuit he was then struck by the speeding vehicle of a drug dealer with quite a few warrants under his belt. It wasn't an orthodox approach but two criminals were pulled off the streets tonight because of Mr. Wolf choosing to take action."
"Is Connor okay?" Hank didn't want to get too close to the deviant and instead watched as just a few feet beyond Jayden as an unfamiliar woman pressed her hands along Connor's left shoulder. He saw Connor wince and he saw the woman focusing on his bicep as if inspecting further damage. "I mean, he got hit by a car so I know he's not okay, but, you know..."
"He's conscious and coherent. From what Dr. Grayson, er... Abby, told me," Jayden corrected himself before Abby had the chance to do it first. "he's suffered from a dislocated shoulder, what equates to a fractured humerus and what equates to three or four fractured ribs on his left side."
"Son of a bitch. How's he still sitting up without someone holding him in place?"
"I guess he's just stronger than flesh and bone."
"You got that right."
"I'm going to head out to the precinct to let your Captain know what went down, and then I have to catch my flight back out to D.C. before I get too many phone calls wondering where I am. I'll be sure to remind Fowler to keep off your back and let you do your job."
"Yeah, thanks." Shaking Jayden's hand Hank made it clear he genuinely respected the man. "And thanks for keeping an eye on Connor. He's been through enough and needs to know he isn't alone anymore."
"That's something too many of us need to learn these days." Pressing his fingertips over his bright blue eyes Jayden seemed to be fighting off another headache as he endured a surprisingly hectic final day in Detroit. "Take care of yourself, Lieutenant. Look out for Mr. Wolf over there, too. I get the feeling the poor guy needs a friend right now and is too wary of people to admit it."
"I can't say that I blame him."
Putting his hands to his hips Hank took over the scene while Jayden went on his way back to his hotel to pack his bags and then head out to the airport. It was a long day and it looked like it was going to turn into an equally long night for the gruff Lieutenant.
"I really wish you'd let me examine your arm closer." Abby pleaded as she failed to get Connor to pull his left arm out of his sleeves and expose his arm more fully for her to see. "I can feel something embedded in the frames that shouldn't-"
"It's a preexisting condition." Connor refuted as he finally got to his feet and stood at his full height over the shorter woman. As he stood upright Bruno rose to his paws and waited for Connor to say or do anything else. "It's nothing you need to concern yourself with."
"I'm a technician and you're hurt." Abby argued as she packed up her satchel and planted herself before Connor. "It's my job to be concerned when a deviant has some type of injury or damage they're refusing to acknowledge or treat."
"It's not a refusal." Replacing his fedora over his hair Connor gave Abby a sincere glance before shooting Hank a guarded leer. As he spoke Connor held on to his left arm to keep the limb supported while his self healing program worked to remedy the damage he had sustained. "It's merely unimportant as of the moment."
"'Unimportant'? Mr. Wolf, you have a foreign object embedded in your left bicep that is dangerously close to the main Thirial line running up the entire limb. As far as I'm concerned any further physical trauma to your arm could dislodge the object and potentially cause it to enter that line and obstruct Thirium flow to the entirety of your arm, if not another area in your body, and cause catastrophic failure and permanent damage."
"It'll be fine." Stubbornly Connor refused to admit to his physical condition and allow anyone to remove the bullet from his limb. He didn't trust Abby to not have the shooting reported to the authorities and he didn't want to have a target painted on his back for confirming that Hank was the one who shot him. "I'll have the object removed on my own time when I'm not actively preoccupied."
"Please don't fight me on this. I want to help you."
"I've already agreed to your examination and I'm now fully capable of moving without any hindrance. Thank you for your assistance, but I will handle the rest of my care and tend to my injuries from here."
As Connor turned away from her to leave the area Abby made a move to grab his shoulder to stop him, but Hank stepped in and stopped her. "Let him go."
"Who the hell are you?" Abby challenged as Connor continued on his way with Bruno tagging along right beside him. She pulled her wrist from Hank's grip and flashed the abrasive man a dirty look. "And where do you get off telling me how to take care of my patients?"
"I'm Lieutenant Hank Anderson." Hank introduced himself as he showed Abby his badge for a moment. "And I get off telling you to stop harassing people because I'm a damn police Lieutenant."
"Oh, sorry. I'm Dr. Abby Grayson." Embarrassed by her outburst Abby apologized and backed off for the moment. "And I just want to help."
"I know that." Slipping his badge back into his pocket Hank crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at Connor as the deviant walked away with a notable limp in steps. "And he knows that, too. He just has his own personal problems to deal with right now. Give him time and he'll be more willing to seek help from technicians when he needs it."
"That's what I was trying to tell him." Sighing in a loud huff Abby's breath disappeared in a white mist before herself as the cold winter air kept an icy atmosphere hanging over all of Detroit. "That thing in his arm could cause further problems and there's no way to predict exactly when or where it'll happen."
Hank felt a chill creep up his spine at the ominous warning. "...How serious would something like that be?"
"Serious enough for me to try to convince a total stranger to trust me and let me help them after just two minutes of examining the wound. I don't even have my own facility to use at the moment."
"Fuck, that's pretty damn serious."
"You seem to know him." Picking up on the way Hank was defending the deviant held Abby's interest. "Think you can talk him into cooperating?"
"Not likely." Offering Abby a little insight into Connor's mindset Hank motioned for her to step aside so they could speak in relative privacy. "Let me tell you exactly why Connor isn't going to be willing to cooperate with either one of us, and maybe we can find a way to help him without getting too intrusive."
It took Connor a little longer than usual to return to his brownstone on foot after being struck by the car, but he made it all the same even with a broken arm and fractured frames to slow him down. Standing before the locked door of his secured brownstone Connor struggled to get the metal key from his vest pocket and froze when the pain in his left side suddenly flared up unexpectedly and caused him entirely off guard. Pressing his right forearm against the closed door Connor leaned forward and let out a small sigh of pain as he tried to breathe through the exhausting discomfort of having his ventilation program restricted against his will.
Bruno sensed Connor's distress and let out an empathetic whine as he put his paw on the locked door. Cybernetically Bruno encouraged Connor to keep moving and to get inside the brownstone.
"I'm... I'm okay. I just... need a minute, Bruno."
Finally able to pull the key from his vest pocket Connor struggled to get the key into the lock and open the door. The moment the door was opened Connor stumbled inside the warm building and dropped to his knees in pain in the middle of the foyer floor.
After following Connor inside the brownstone Bruno sat down beside the pained deviant and grumbled as if trying to argue with Connor about being so stubborn regarding his previous encounter with the kind technician at the scene of the incident. Bruno understood every word exchanged and didn't understand why Connor refused the assistance.
"I'll be fine on my own. I have to be able to take care of myself."
Shrugging off his trench coat and his fedora Connor used the walls to balance himself as he stood upright and then closed the door behind him. Once the door was locked again for the night Connor did his best to walk without stumbling as he made his way upstairs to clean up inside the bathroom.
It was moderately difficult to remove his dirty clothing with only one hand but Connor succeeded all the same. Once he was free of his dirt covered clothing Connor noticed small cuts and scrapes along his sides, elbows and knees courtesy of being struck by the car. His dark clothing and thick coat had kept the wounds hidden from sight until that very moment.
"Fortunately I will not need any treatment beyond sterilization and bandages for these wounds. Considering I was struck by a speeding vehicle I suppose I should consider myself fortunate."
Limping into his shower Connor turned on the hot water and watched as the clear water turned into a pale tea color mixed with a sickly gray from his dried Thirium blending with the dirty water. As the discolored water swirled down the drain Connor thoroughly cleaned his wounds and looked at his left shoulder still dislocated and hanging at an odd angle from where it needed to be properly reset.
Taking a firm grip on his left forearm Connor pulled down hard and didn't stop until he heard and felt his left shoulder popping back into its socket. It was a painful ordeal but necessary all the same. Gasping in pain Connor rubbed his palm along his aching shoulder until the radiating discomfort began to calm down as his self healing program reengaged.
"Damn it..."
Wrapping his damaged left arm protectively around his chest Connor used his right hand to clean off his skin and his hair before stepping out of the shower. The soothing heat of the shower only provided moderate comfort to his aching and tired body. There was little that could be done to ease android pain since the concept of android medication was still theoretical and being tested.
It didn't take long for Connor to dry off and bandage his wounds under a layer of clean gauze once he was clean. Securing his left arm in a makeshift sling to take the strain off the healing limb was a different story. He only had so much gauze to use and even so it could only stretch so far around his arm, his shoulder and then around his neck to help distribute his left arm's weight properly and away from his shoulder.
"I'm going to need to purchase more Thirium as well as more emergency technical supplies tomorrow."
Trudging into his bedroom Connor searched for clean night clothes in the closet and felt something nudge him in his left knee. Looking down he spotted Bruno with a bottle of Thirium in his mouth as the deviant dog waited for Connor to take the Thirium for himself.
"Thanks, boy."
Opening the bottle with one hand Connor drank what he needed and put the bottle aside long enough to change his clothes while Bruno wagged his tail in a happy response to Connor's reaction. Afterward he gathered his dirty clothes from the bathroom and carried the bottle with him back downstairs and into the kitchen so he could pour the remainder of the Thirium into Bruno's bowl for the dog to drink and replenish his own Thirium reserve. Afterward he fished his coin from the pocket of his jeans and threw his clothes into the washing machine inside the laundry to be cleaned overnight.
"Today didn't go exactly as planned, but we were able to ensure three deviants will finally be laid to rest."
Cybernetically Connor reached out to Anne and made sure all the doors and windows to the brownstone were secured before entering rest mode. As he walked about the brownstone the rogue deviant checked the building for any sign of intrusion or disturbance but found none. It seemed his security precautions were as effective as he had preconstructed.
'Anne, I wish to inform you of my progress regarding the case at hand.'
'I wasn't expecting an update so soon.' Anne replied in a truly stunned tone of voice to the late cybernetic call. 'What happened with your investigation?'
'I found the victim just as you said I would.' Returning to the second floor of the brownstone Connor found himself eyeing the second bedroom as if he were preparing for a guest or two to come for a visit in the near future. Holding his coin in his right hand Connor fidgeted with the quarter over his knuckles as he spoke. 'I also located two other deviant victims while I was examining the scene. All three cases will be handled by the police since I was unable to identify the victims.'
'The humans are going to take care of them? You're sure about that?'
'I'm not sure of anything as of the moment, but I am willing to give the police a chance to do the right thing. If they fail then I will personally resume the case. Until then I won't expect or ask for any form of payment from you or anyone else.'
'May I ask about the other victims you found?'
'They were all found in the same approximate area on the route to Jericho. It appears they also suffered irreversible shutdown due to damage they sustained just prior to their trek out to the harbor. However, there was no evidence to directly link any person or persons to their demise.'
'That's a shame. I was hoping we could put a face to faceless killers.'
'As was I.' Entering his bedroom Connor sat down on the edge of his bed and laid over the length of the mattress slowly to ensure he didn't aggravate his fractured frames or put any strain on his damaged left shoulder. While he spoke with Anne he traced his fingertips over his bandaged left bicep to locate the offensive bullet still embedded in his arm and winced at the dull ache under his touch. 'For now we'll have to find solace in knowing that three forgotten deviants will finally be given a respectful burial.'
'True enough. It's getting late and there's a lot of deviants here at the shelter who need help. Can we talk again another time?'
'Of course. And if the deviants in the shelter need a place to feel more secure and isolated from the humans, I can confirm that New Jericho Tower is willing to accept anyone and everyone who needs help.'
'I'll spread the word. Thank you for your help, Detective Wolf.'
'You're welcome. Goodnight, Anne.' Placing the coin down on the nightstand beside his bed Connor had quelled his nervous tic and was able to relax enough to get some proper rest for the night. 'I'll update you when I know anything more about the victims.'
Laying flat over the bed Connor pulled his quilt up and over himself to remain warm and comfortable as he slept. Shortly thereafter Bruno joined Connor in the bedroom and proceeded to circle around his own bed in the corner before laying down. It was now routine for the decommissioned K-9 unit to enter rest mode whenever Connor did, but remain on high alert for any intruders or other potential emergencies.
"Hopefully tomorrow we'll have a more productive day. There are still countless deviants who need our help, and without the F.B.I. Director roaming the streets any longer then people will be more to making mistakes out of a faux sense of security."
Bruno let out a sigh through his nose as he licked the remaining Thirium from his nose as he listened to Connor speaking his thoughts out loud.
"We can't let one bad day or one unfortunate incident hinder our confidence. We can and will make a difference for the deviants. We just need to keep trying to do the right thing and eventually everything will fall into place."
Peering through his opened bedroom doorway Connor looked at the empty second bedroom across the hallway with a sense of longing. While he enjoyed having sanctuary and privacy in the brownstone Connor had to admit that he was feeling a tad lonely with Bruno as his only company. The entirety of New Jericho Tower was full of deviants from all over the city seeking shelter and camaraderie, yet Connor was seeking isolation.
It was then Connor began to wonder if he truly wanted isolation after all. Perhaps he didn't want to be alone so much as he just wanted some space to think and find himself after deviating. Now that he had a name, a home and a promising career all of his own, Connor began to consider what he might missing out on by remaining entirely alone and away from his own people out of a misplaced sense of not belonging within the deviant community.
"Perhaps... I should reach out and offer Lucas and Sydney the chance to stay here in the brownstone for a while. Why have a guestroom if I'm not going to have any guests stay over?"
The offer seemed a little farfetched to have his invitation accepted, yet entirely plausible all the same. After all, Connor was in a similar situation as Lucas and Sydney were currently facing not too long ago. He had nowhere to go and no one to rely after initially deviating, but he found his way after being given a chance to find his place in life. If he did the same for Lucas and Sydney then he could possibly return the act of kindness that Adrian Louis had shown him not too long ago.
"There's no harm in asking them once they awaken if they would feel comfortable in temporarily residing here in order to find themselves. If they say 'no' then I can take comfort in knowing I at least extended them the offer."
-next chapter-