The hunt for the "Binary Killer" was still on. The previous day's close call with the cannibal android had caused a significant delay in the investigation, but neither Connor or Hank were going to give up on their search for the infamous and active serial killer. While Hank worked at the precinct alongside Gavin to handle the homicide aspect of the first human victim, and then worked alongside Chris to handle the murder of the second deviant victim, Connor remained in the brownstone to work alongside Lucas as his little brother healed from his horrific encounter with the cannibal killer. Having three teams of detectives handling the investigation would be far more beneficial than just one detective wandering the streets and hoping for a lucky break.

With a bottle of fresh Thirium in one hand and a clean bowl in the other, Connor walked into Lucas's bedroom on the second floor to check on his little brother as he rested comfortably in his own bed with Bruno sleeping on the foot of the bed beside him. They were both recovering from their previous day's damage and needed as much as rest as possible.

"Lucas?" Calling out to his brother Connor set the bowl down in front of Bruno and poured half of the Thirium into the bowl for Bruno to drink. The remaining half would be given to Lucas to help him during his recovery. "It's been six hours, you need a replenishment."

"I'm aware." Lifting up his head slowly Lucas sighed and made a reach for the remaining Thirium. He disliked being on a strict recovery schedule and couldn't help but feel the irony of his disdain since as a technician he had done the same thing to his own patients in the past. "Thanks."

"How's your pain?"

"Gone." Answering before he downed the Thirium, Lucas gave his older brother an honest reply. "It's been replaced with exhaustion. How's the investigation?"

"I'm still searching for a connection between the two victims that can lead back to a single suspect."

"The CyberLife connection cannot be a coincidence."

"Agreed. With as many enemies as CyberLife had made while in operation I wouldn't be surprised if you or I fit the criteria to be suspects."

"Please do not share that theory with anyone else."

"I assure you that I won't." Rubbing Bruno's ears as the loyal dog lapped up his Thirium, Connor made sure that Bruno's broken leg was still healing properly. There was no sign of the limb suffering any instability but with Bruno only having three legs he didn't want to risk the dog losing any more limbs. "It's a relief that neither of you were permanently damaged yesterday. I never want to see you or Bruno in such a dangerous situation like that again."

"It was also fortunate that Lieutenant Anderson volunteered to help you search for me. As much as I dislike the idea of being armed or shooting anyone, I am grateful that he was able to do something to save us."

The prospect of Connor, Lucas and even Bruno being spared from death because of a bullet seemed like a cruel irony. As much as Connor disdained guns and the notion of taking another life, he had to admit that such weapons weren't sentient items and could only harm someone when someone else pulled the trigger. He'd never stop disliking such a weapon, but he wasn't going to blame the weapon for what its wielder had chosen to do.

"Lieutenant Anderson saved us, but that doesn't mean we should trust him."

"I wouldn't ask you to trust anyone who hasn't earned it." Placing the empty bottle down on his nightstand Lucas ran a self diagnostic and confirmed that his filters were all recovering without any complications. "Do we have any allies that we can trust?"

"Aside from potentially Markus and Simon, no."

"What do you mean 'potentially'?"

"I don't believe that either of them would intentionally do anything malicious toward us or anyone else, but I also don't believe that they're above sacrificing someone for what they personally believe to be the greater good. After all, Josh had already thrown North under the metaphorical bus to protect himself after he attempted to poison me for what he believed was a just reason."

"I see."

"I'll leave you alone to rest. I'm going to resume looking into what little evidence we have and attempt to track down this 'Binary Killer'."

Laying back against his pillow Lucas reached his hand down and patted Bruno's back to get the dog to wag his tail and stop being so mopey. He knew Bruno was in pain and that the loyal dog felt like he failed because he was unable to fight of a monstrous bear like android. "We'll be able to help Connor soon. For now, we must heal and be patient. You have no reason to feel as if you're doing anything wrong."

'Killers need to be found.' Bruno whimpered as he set up his cybernetic link with Lucas and pressed his chin down over Lucas's abdomen. 'We need to find them.'

"We will. Until then we'll trust Connor to find the serial killer's trail and we'll assist him later on after we've had time to recover."

The hunt for the "Binary Killer" wasn't just happening within the brownstone's secured study. Catching his second wind thanks to a particularly potent cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin, Hank took his small team into a vacant meeting room to go over the previous two days and the odd cases that were involved. Thanks to the numerous reports on the total of six deviant bodies provided by Joel, they were able to confirm that the monstrous cannibal deviant wasn't the same killer who had taken the two lives two days beforehand, and that the "Binary Killer" was an entirely different suspect. The deviant cannibal was just that, a deviant who preyed only on other deviants and hadn't targeted any humans, which ruled out the cannibal almost right away.

Hank addressed Gavin and Chris in a casual tone as he highlighted the differences between the two killers and made sure Chris understood the android terminology being thrown around. It was bittersweet that the two detectives already had so much experience with homicides that they didn't need a refresher course, but it didn't mean Hank wasn't above giving them small tips to aid them during the investigation.

"We know that this 'Binary Killer' is someone who has a very distinct pattern of behavior and has left behind two identical messages written in the victims' blood for us to find." Using a small projector Hank showed Gavin and Chris the photographed images to be compared. The message written in Thirium had to be recreated considering the blue blood evaporated and only Connor could see it after it had vanished. "The first victim was a human named Jason Graff who worked for CyberLife. The second victim was a deviant who worked for Jason Graff."

"Are the people connected to CyberLife the main target?" Gavin asked while trying to hide his worry for the next potential victims. Using his hand Gavin covered his mouth as he tried to mask his concerns for a certain someone with ties to that defunct company. "Or did the killer just pick two people who already knew each other for some other reason?"

"That's something we still need to figure out. According to Mrs. Graff her husband didn't have any enemies, but that doesn't mean he didn't have someone targeting him without knowing it until it was too late."

"How did these two people get torn apart in broad daylight without anyone noticing anything?"

"That's something we're still trying to figure out."

Chris had been reading over the two case files and couldn't hide his disgust at the sight of the mangled bodies. Gunshots, stab wounds, car accidents and even explosions were pretty standard in Detroit when it came to death, but seeing bodies cut to pieces and disfigured was something he'd never get used to. "The message states: 'This is only the beginning'. Beginning of murders, revenge, or... what?"

"Another thing we're trying to figure out."

"I take it that's why Connor's involved, right?"

"Yeah." Acknowledging Connor's presence wasn't anything to be ashamed of or try to hide. "Detective Wolf is the one who discovered the second body and discovered the second message at the scene. He's working on the case in his own time and is keeping us in the loop."

"And the android that attacked him and his brother had nothing to do with the 'Binary Killer', which means we had two weird killers running around at once?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. One killer's been caught and now the second one needs to be found."

There was a knock on the closed door as Ben announced his presence and entered the small meeting. "Hate to interrupt, but another body was found. And... there's a new message waiting for you to decipher."

"Fuck. The asshole is at it again." Ending his meeting early Hank slapped his palm down on the projector to turn it off and waited for Ben to turn on the room's light via the switch right beside the door. "Where's the body and what kind is it?"

"Another human. This one was found at that fancy rehab place on the other side of the city."

"That the place where all the rich assholes send their fucked up family members from society until they're clean?"

"They also have an extensive physical therapy program for people who got really sick or injured, but yeah, that's the place."

Gavin spoke up as he knew exactly what place they were discussing. "The Plush Recuperation. That place is pretty damn exclusive."

"What do you know about it, Reed?" Being someone who didn't care about fancy locations left Hank somewhat in the dark about the more ritzy locales in Detroit. "Got an idea of the layout?"

"Uh, it's in a gated area to supposedly keep out the poor locals who want to use the gym, the pool or the golf course, but it's actually so strictly secured to keep the patients from escaping. For someone to get inside the clinic to murder someone and not get caught is... pretty fucked up."

Hank asked for more details after returning his attention to Ben as the investigator stepped fully inside the room. "Exactly where was the body found?"

"On that fancy golf course that security was supposed to keep the 'riffraff' out of. My team's on its way out right now to start collecting evidence."

"All right, Reed. You're with me." Hank ordered as he watched Chris taking notes to keep on top of everything happening. "Chris, you read the rest of the report and go back over the evidence in case we missed something."

"No problem, Lieutenant."

"Let's go." Motioning for Gavin to get up and head out the field, Hank checked his phone and used it as an opportunity to send a message to Connor to ensure he was kept in the loop. Having a pair of deviant eyes who could see what others could not was invaluable when looking for an unknown killer. "We don't want to upset any of the superior white collar patients by loitering at such a posh place for too long. We might bring down the property values."

Word of the murder had been kept under wraps courtesy of the affluent clientele staff at the rehabilitation clinic. However, the golf course suddenly being closed off and inaccessible in such a posh clinic was going to aggravate the clients and they'd start asking questions. While the staff came up with a story about a burst pipe in the property's golf course irrigation system to explain away the restricted and sectioned off access, the C.S.I. team photographed the body and made sure no one snuck onto the crime scene. It was crucial to keep the murder as secretive as possible to ensure that the city didn't panic and begin taking drastic measures due to paranoia and fear.

It didn't take long for the C.S.I. team to begin chronicling evidence and snapping photographs of the body. By the time Hank and Gavin arrived to examine the body, Connor had gone through all the necessary security procedures to gain access to the property and begin his own assessment of the situation. The layout of the body was too reminiscent of the previous two victims and Connor knew that the "Binary Killer" had indeed struck again.

"Damn it. This is unacceptable."

"Fuckin' hell..." Hank muttered and caused Connor to turn to face him where he stood. Joining Connor beside the body Hank looked at the mess and felt his stomach sink to the ground. "Victim number three."

The body was of a woman with a dark complexion, raven black hair and chocolate brown eyes. A quick facial recognition scan confirmed her identity as Danielle Carnegie, the former spokeswoman for CyberLife products and activity. Danielle had been strung upside-down by her ankles between two large palm trees at the eighteenth hole of the golf course. Like the previous two victims she had been mutilated upon her death, but instead of her legs being removed from her body she had her arms removed at the shoulders, and she had her elbows, wrists and all of her fingers broken at the joints. Another change was that she had her tongue cut out of her mouth while she was still alive, meaning she could only make a gurgling scream of pain and terror as her mouth filled with blood as her abdomen was sliced open, allowing her entrails to hang from her body and spill to the ground beneath her.

The binary message had been painted in Danielle's blood over the large electronic billboard that showcased player scores just beside Danielle's body. The message was one that could be deciphered over time, but it was simpler for Connor to do it for everyone right there at the scene.

Eyeing the message with a twisted stomach Hank dared to ask what the killer wanted to tell them. "What did the sick-fuck say this time?"

Connor read the message and shook his head somberly. "It says: 'Blood will be spilled'."

"No shit. It's all over the fuckin' place."

"The victim is another former CyberLife employee."

"Fuck me. Is that the pattern?" Hank's instincts as a senior detective told him they were getting dangerously close to a pattern of behavior and maybe even the motivation behind the murders. "Someone's going after the former CyberLife personnel."

"It's possible, but until we can determine the definitive link between the victims and the killer's motives, we cannot be certain."

"Yeah. And with all the enemies CyberLife made I don't think we'd be able to narrow down the suspect pool to any single person any time soon."

"The victim died less than one hour ago from exsanguination after she had her arms hacked away with a machete. Her tongue being cut out also contributed to her rapid blood loss."

"How did she even get out here, strung up, and then murdered?" Hank turned and looked at the large white sheets concealing the crime scene and knew that many of the patient rooms overlooked the golf course. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of potential witnesses just a few yards away. "Hell, how did no one hear this poor woman screaming in agony?"

"The walls and windows of the clinic are all sound proofed to ensure the patients rest comfortably at all times." The deviant noted with a morose tone. "I also noted that the security cameras for the entire property had all been disabled one by one in sequence leading up the murder itself. The lost signals started with the cameras pointed at the front gates of the clinic and then trailed up to the main drive, the side drive and all throughout the entirety of the golf course for a total of two minutes each time."

"How did the killer do that?"

"Through cybernetic interference, powerful magnetic fields, controlled electrical impulses or by hacking into the security programs."

"...Which can be done by deviants and humans. Fuck."

"The only way we can try to find a lead is by tracking the killer's route." Connor suggested with a surprisingly confident tone. "We know how they entered the golf course but don't know how they exited. If we can follow their trail leading into the golf course we-"

"Then we might be able figure out where they grabbed the victim and find more clues at the source of the abduction." Following Connor's logic quickly Hank agreed to work with the deviant detective in trailing the killer's footsteps. "All right, we'll start with that. Reed?"

"Yeah?" Approaching the body with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes fixated on all the blood turning the vibrant green grass an appropriately deathly brown hue, Gavin did his best to maintain a sense of professionalism even as his stomach wanted him to rebel. "What's up?"

"You and Ben keep the scene under control and check over every blade of grass. Me and Detective Wolf are going to backtrack this fucker's footsteps and figure out how he snatched this woman and snuck onto this property without being seen."

Scoffing a little Gavin actually looked relieved by his orders. "Fine by me. I'd rather be in the last place the killer would show up again instead of looking for their fucked-up ass."

"Ready?" Hank asked Connor as he began walking along the grass toward the side of the property. "You lead the way."

Without a word Connor proceeded to scan the landscape in search of shoe prints and worked to isolate the prints from the C.S.I. team, responding officers and his own from anyone who had walked to the rear of the golf course recently. A set of prints that were partially sunken into the soft grass heading in the direction of the golf course was indicative of a person who was heavier than average or was bearing a heavy weight.

"I may have found a trail to follow."

"Good." Standing just beside Connor as they walked Hank made sure to not get in the deviant's way by mistake. "What can you tell me about it?"

"The shoe prints are of a size 10, masculine design and are a casual walking shoe."

"Average all across the board. Anything else?"

"The soles of the shoes are significantly worn-out and have no discernible tread left behind. Such a trait is either indicative of the killer attempting to disguise their shoes, or their shoes are truly that old." Connor remarked as he led the way through the golf course. "Considering the killer was able to carry our victim out to the eighteenth hole without falling, I suspect they are intentionally trying to hide their tread patterns and their shoes only appear exceptionally worn-out."

"Sounds like whoever we're looking for is as meticulous as they are dangerous."

"Agreed."

While Connor concentrated on the trail Hank kept tabs on activity back at the precinct with his phone and made sure Chris hadn't been left entirely on his own. To help break the tension in the air between Connor and himself, Hank decided to try to begin a friendly discussion.

"How's Lucas?"

"Tired but recovering well. Same with Bruno."

"Good to hear. How's your back?"

"It's healing well." Connor confirmed as he picked up on what Hank was attempting to do. Noticing that Hank wasn't showing any sign of back pain and that he had lost more weight, the deviant decided to compliment the positive changes in the senior detective's life. "I've noticed that you've dropped ten pounds and that you're gaining muscle mass. That's very impressive."

"Yeah, well, seeing how much my past decisions were fucking up more than my life was a real eye-opener. I almost killed you, did kill Sydney, almost got you killed again, and I was letting myself drown in self pity instead of accepting that my personal losses weren't an excuse to treat the people around me like shit. So I kicked the booze, stop eating grease at every meal and started working out again."

"Those are all very positive changes. Be proud of yourself."

"I am. And, for what it's worth, I am sor-"

"Trail stops here." Without thinking Connor cut Hank off mid apology. Crouching down the deviant detective began scanning over the blacktop of the long drive that circled the front of the clinic and connected to the drives that led in and out of the security gates. "It'll be difficult, but not impossible, to track the killer further than this."

"Well, if you know who the victim is then we should head back to wherever she lived and try looking there."

"That's a good idea." Standing upright Connor scanned the area again and tried to locate the shoe prints again. "The first victim had been attacked during his morning walk and was then taken to the abandoned house. The second victim had been running errands when she was attacked and dragged into an alleyway. With the two victims being interrupted during their personal routines, it's logical to assume we can find the moment of the most recent attack by learning about our current victim's routine."

"Address?"

A cybernetic search gave Connor the answer to the question. "...Six blocks East from here."

"We'll walk so you can try to pick up the killer's trail again."

"Right."

The trek from the dead body and to the victim's house was lengthy and uneventful. It didn't take long for Hank to send active updates to Gavin while also trying to keep Connor talking for a moment longer.

"Just in case we do find this fucker, I have to know, are you armed?"

"No." Without any hesitation Connor confirmed he was in fact unarmed. "I don't carry weapons."

"You should be carrying something to protect yourself."

"I'm skilled in hand-to-hand combat and know numerous forms of self defense."

"Which is all well and good until you end up tracking down some kind of fucked up bear monster in the middle of a park."

The argument was as logical as it was bizarre. Connor couldn't refute the fact that he had struggled to protect himself, protect Lucas and protect Bruno when he had tracked down the cannibal android the day before. Being unarmed while attempting to confront dangerous suspects needed to change.

"Nice neighborhood." Hank forcibly commented to try and keep the tension in the air to an absolute minimum. "Couldn't stand living here though. People around here would lose their mind if they saw my old car in the driveway and saw Sumo running around without a diamond studded collar."

"Appearances can be quite deceiving."

"Damn right about that."

"The killer's shoe prints are consistent in distance from one another." The keen eyed detective noted. "The killer has been walking at a steady pace without any sign of trying to run or hide as they approached the golf course."

"We're either dealing someone who's incredibly arrogant or incredibly fearless."

"Perhaps they're merely insane and incapable of emotional comprehension."

"That's the worst case scenario. Dealing with truly psychopaths is fortunately rare, but even so interviewing them leaves you feeling haunted and unclean for months."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Pretty weird to think about a psychopath serial killer hunting down former CyberLife employees."

"Why's that?"

"Because Kamski himself gives off the same psychopathic vibes."

"Elijah Kamski isn't a psychopath. He's a narcissist with complete apathy."

"I don't know." Pushing the claim in a slightly different direction Hank walked alongside Connor as the deviant detective mapped out the killer's route. "Anyone who forces a gun into another person's hand and tells them to shoot an innocent person is pretty damn psychotic in my book."

"I didn't pull the trigger, neither did he." Without mentioning anything of the way Hank had in fact been someone to point his gun at another person and pull the trigger, Connor knew he silenced Hank's attempts at trying to pretend as if they were friends in any capacity. Connor still couldn't bring himself to forgive Hank or move past the sense of deception he had felt upon regaining all of his memories. "This killer uses a machete. Their willingness to kill seems far more personal and coordinated than a lunatic with a gun."

The stinging remark of pointing a gun at someone and shooting them had kept Hank silent for a moment. He knew that Connor and Sydney had every right to be less than friendly toward him.

"Using a machete to mutilate the victims is both an effective means to inflict maximum damage with minimal effort, and an effective way to keep evidence left behind to a minimum as well. A machete can be transported and hidden easily, whereas bullets can be traced back to a gun with federal registration."

"Not to mention all the hardware stores selling machetes throughout the city. Hell, even those urban farms up on the old building rooftops could have some machetes just layin' around and up for grabs for anyone who happens by."

Connor paused for a moment as an interesting idea came to his mind. "Such strenuous activity could also result in a person having exceptionally worn down shoes without anyone taking notice, and it'd give a person the chance to build significant upper body strength."

"That still leaves us with either a human or a deviant as a suspect. I'll have Chris go and check out those farms and see which ones have machetes."

Following the trail of the killer's shoe prints to the gated property of a rather impressive house, Connor checked the address and confirmed that it belonged to their victim found at the golf course. "This is the home to the now late Danielle Carnegie. She was engaged to be married, and she did not have any children."

"Where's the fiancé right now?"

"Unknown at this time."

"Shit. They are not going to be happy to hear what happened this morning." Joining Connor outside the gated property Hank looked at the front gate over the driveway he tried to find any sign of an intrusion or altercation. Nothing was amiss and the gate had been left unlocked. "I'll get a warrant to check out the house for any sign of foul play."

As much as Connor wanted to explore the property as soon as possible, he knew better than to ignore official regulations when handling a murder. Standing back Connor silently observed Hank making a phone call to get the warrant approved. With their current movements limited Connor decided to check in on Lucas and ask for his opinion on the matter via cybernetic link.

The brownstone remained relatively quiet as Lucas carefully walked about the secured study with Bruno laying on the sofa watching his every movement very closely. It didn't take long for Lucas to grow bored with just laying in bed sleeping all day, and he decided to find a way to preoccupy his mind by reading some of Connor's books and by working on other small cases that still needed some attention while Connor was out handling his own investigation. Being too physically weak to go out to New Jericho Tower to aid other deviants as a technician, and too worn down to investigate any crime scene in person, had resulted in the young deviant using his cybernetic sleuthing skills to work on cases within the security of the study.

Bruno was less interested in any investigations since his leg was still healing and he didn't want to walk too far on just two fully functional legs. The K-9 unit didn't want to risk losing another leg or risk being unable to protect Lucas from any potential threats while out in the city.

"This is very peculiar." Lucas thought out loud as he continued to pace about the study. "The killer has left behind messages in blood and had gone out of their way to disfigure the victims. Normally disfigurement and dismemberment are used in an attempt to hide the identity of the victims, but the killer seems to be more focused on torturing the victims before they perish."

'Sadist.' Bruno replied in an otherwise silent cybernetic reply. 'The killer wants other people to suffer.'

The way Bruno was becoming slowly more articulate over time really helped emphasize his deviancy. He was no longer stricken by the basic verbal commands that were a part of his original programming and he could now learn new commands and words without needing prior authorization.

"You're right about that. If we could just figure out their motivation then they'd be easier to track down."

As he spoke Lucas was met with an incoming cybernetic link. Closing his eyes he acknowledged the call and found himself receiving an update he had been hoping for.

...Incoming Call: Connor Wolf - 313 248 317 - 51

...Accept Call?: [Y/N]?

"Yes." Verbally accepting and acknowledging the call Lucas greeted his older brother as he selected a book from the shelf to begin reading. "Hello, Connor. How is the investigation?"

'The third body is that of a human who also worked within CyberLife.' Connor stated in a controlled and nearly bitter tone over the line. 'Danielle Carnegie.'

"Interesting. The body was found at The Plush Recuperation rehabilitation center, correct?"

'Correct. She had been strung up by her ankles with rope, had her arms severed with a machete at the shoulders and then broken at the joints, her tongue was cut from her mouth and the binary message written in her blood read "blood will be spilled".'

"That is highly disturbing. The killer is trying to send a literal message through these attacks, but we still cannot understand what they are trying to say."

'Lieutenant Anderson and I are going to explore the victim's home and look for any sign of a break-in, theft or a struggle. Can you please check through CyberLife's personnel files and track down anyone who might still be in the city who had once been employed with the company?'

"I'll find the remaining former CyberLife employees and request police drones to patrol their residences. Anything I can do to help?"

'Ensure that the brownstone is secure and warn Markus against any potential threats against New Jericho Tower. Whoever is doing this may not be aware of CyberLife vacating the tower just after the Revolution.'

"I will do so. Keep me in the loop, brother."

'I promise. I'll contact you as soon as I learn anything else.'

The line was severed, and Lucas looked over at Bruno on the sofa. "Another body was found this morning." Lucas spoke to Bruno like any other person to ensure the K-9 unit was kept in the loop as well. "Another human."

'We need evidence.'

"You're right. Connor's going to explore the victim's residence to look for any clues, and I'm going to search through the files of former CyberLife personnel. As of the moment CyberLife is the only thing that seemed to connect our victims together."

Growling a little Bruno licked his nose nervously as he assessed the situation himself. 'CyberLife is the enemy.'

"Only to the those who were openly wronged by the company." Not wanting to be too broad in regard to the situation Lucas made sure Bruno remembered that the company was gone and only the individuals who ran the company were left behind. "Deviants were abused in CyberLife Tower, and humans were overworked and underpaid as technicians and security. It's possible that a former employee may be the culprit and not just a victim."

'CyberLife hurt many people.'

"Unfortunately, yes."

Whimpering once Bruno let out a sigh through his nose as his ears drooped down sadly. 'CyberLife threw me away.'

"That's true, but Connor rescued you." Book in hand Lucas walked over to the sofa and gently ran his free hand down the dog's back. "And he did the right thing by doing so. We all know what it's like to be dismissed by CyberLife."

'And Sydney.'

"Yeah, Sydney, too."

Bruno waited for Lucas to sit down before crawling on to the deviant's lap and snuggling down. Having so much positive attention and care from the three deviant brothers helped Bruno realize his value as a deviant and know that he was so much better than being cast aside from suffering damage to his leg.

"Once we've both made our recoveries, we'll rejoin Connor in searching for this serial killer and work together to get the killer off the street."

Wagging his tail slowly Bruno looked up at Lucas as his ears perked up slightly. Being encouraged to keep doing the right thing and to keep helping people was all it took to help Bruno feel like he was still a useful police dog and not the garbage that CyberLife had turned him into.

The house of the now late Danielle Carnegie was still in immaculate condition by all outside appearances, but inside the large house there was an entirely different scene awaiting the responding officers. The front door was left intact while the backdoor had been forced open by a sharp tool. Shoe prints that seemed to belong to the killer were found leading from the backdoor and into the master bedroom on the second floor of the house. There was clear sign of a struggle and by all account it was the origin of the altercation that ended with the victim being taken to the rehabilitation clinic's golf course to be brutally tortured and then murdered by the infamous "Binary Killer".

While Connor scanned over the bedroom and cybernetically reconstructed the struggle and determined that the victim had been overpowered, rendered unconscious to a strong blow to the head and then carried out of the house, Hank began checking through the victim's personal documents to try to find her connection with the other victims. The two detectives were determined to make a breakthrough in their case one way or another.

"Found some weird shit regarding CyberLife plans downstairs." Hank announced as he walked back into the second floor bedroom with a black binder clutched in his hand. The binder was thick and filled with printed schematics and blueprints that revolved around prototype android models, as well as something revolving around 'Genesis Chips' and 'Project Light'. "I guess the killer didn't notice it."

Connor turned to look at the binder in Hank's hand causing his brow to arch curiously. "How did you find it? Something like that would've been locked away in a hidden compartment in the house or secured in a safety deposit box at a private bank."

"She disguised it." Closing the binder Hank turned it so its spine was facing Connor and he could read the label: 'FAMILY RECIPES'. "She had this stuffed in her kitchen cabinet with her other cookbooks. Hidden in plain sight..."

"Yet you found it easily."

"No self respecting cook crams secret recipes in a binder and keeps it in the spice rack. They write recipes down in a notebook, keep the notebook in a drawer in the kitchen and then keep updating the recipes over time."

"...Are you speaking from experience?"

"Both of my grandmothers, my mother and my wife all did the same thing with their family recipes, and I still have the notebooks somewhere in my house. Anyway, this binder was too obvious for something that was supposed to be a secret, and I trusted my gut when I saw it. I know this is important."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, that's putting it mildly." Opening the binder again Hank began thumbing through the laminated pale blue pages with an intrigued stare. "What did you find in here while I was downstairs?"

"The victim was attacked from behind and struck in the head during her attempt to get away." Walking over to the nearby white dresser Connor pointed to a small smudge of dried blood on the surface of the furniture next to a mess of cosmetics and jewelry. There was a faint outline of Danielle's cheek against the top of the dresser indicating that she had her head slammed down and as a result suffered a small laceration to her head during the assault. "This blood sample matches our victim. The age of the blood indicates that this happened approximately one hour, sixteen minutes ago."

"This fucker works fast. That's three murders that have taken place in very public locations in less an hour each time."

"They are also able to avoid any and all detection wherever they go. The backdoor was pried open at the lock by a sharp instrument, most likely the same machete that had been used against our three victims." Connor's assessment was accurate and lined up with what Ben's team had uncovered at both the golf course and down on the first floor of the house. "The killer managed to get into the house without the security alarm being triggered, snuck up on our victim, and easily rendered her unconscious with a swift blow to the head. They know how to use stealth and discretion to their advantage."

"Sounds like a professional assassin." Keeping the binder in his hand Hank noticed several official CyberLife documents that were accompanied with N.D.A.'s that had their current victim's signature at the bottom. "I can't make heads or tails of this shit, but it has to be important. What do you think?"

Taking the binder for himself Connor started at the very first page and proceeded to check through each page swiftly but accurately courtesy of his incredibly advanced intracranial processor. "These documents never should've left CyberLife Tower."

"What are they about?"

The sound of cameras flashing and footsteps heading up the staircase prompted Connor to close the binder quickly before the C.S.I. team saw any of the pages for themselves. "These are documents regarding android designs, testing, modifications and illegal programming that the government would never approve."

"What kind of illegal programming?"

Holding his silence Connor refused to answer as the C.S.I. team entered the bedroom to continue to chronicle the scene of the crime.

"All right. I'll admit this as evidence and make sure that only you or me can access it back at the precinct."

Unsure if it was safe for Hank to keep the binder or not Connor hesitated in handing it back over.

"I'll keep this between us until we have a better idea of who the killer is and why they're targeting the victims."

"...Very well." Allowing Hank to take the binder back Connor watched the members of the C.S.I. team very cautiously. "Do not tell anyone of this particular discovery. We cannot be certain if this is connected to the serial killer or another case entirely."

"No problem. I'll take this back to the precinct right now and get it locked up."

"And I'll inform Lucas of our progress."

"Need a ride?"

"No, I can walk."

"Yeah, sure. Okay."

Passing by Hank with his hands slipped into his trench coat pockets Connor took his leave of the house through the backdoor without touching anything in the process. Even though he couldn't contaminate any evidence as he was a deviant, he didn't want to give the C.S.I. team any reason to stop him or try to keep him from responding to future crime scenes.

Unsure of what to expect or what to do beyond explore CyberLife's secretive activities, Connor decided it'd be best to keep a low profile and check on Lucas and Bruno. He didn't want to worry about his little brother while he was out searching for a serial killer, especially since he couldn't readily defend himself if the "Binary Killer" was as stealthy and resourceful as they appeared.

Despite the best efforts of the police to keep the murder a secret, word of the most vicious death spread quickly courtesy of disgruntled patients at the rehabilitation clinic getting their golf game interrupted. As a result, that evening all of Detroit learned that there were three murder victims found within three days and that all of the victims appeared to have been killed by the same person. Such an uproar had left every precinct in the city being flooded with dozens upon dozens of paranoid phone calls demanding answers that the detectives simply didn't have, or a wave of false leads were sent in that were making it more difficult for the responding officers to balance their caseloads appropriately.

With the brownstone still secured and Hank back at the precinct with the classified CyberLife binder under lock and key, Connor showed Lucas holographic images taken directly from his memories regarding the secretive files. When Lucas read over the title 'Project Light' long dormant memories resurfaced and gave the deviant 'RK-900' a sense of reclaimed missing identity.

"...The files pertain to the 'RK' series of androids." Rubbing his hands together nervously before himself Lucas stared at the holographic images on the digital display board on the far wall while Connor checked his bandages and made sure his damage was mending properly. "I thought Kamski had all of the records destroyed upon his departure from the company."

Without taking his eyes off his work Connor acknowledged his brother's observations with genuine interest. "It appears that we found one of the technicians who had stolen Kamski's work and sold his experimental chips on the black market."

"Such a theory would also explain why someone who is no longer employed at the now defunct company would be able to continue to live such a lavish and comfortable lifestyle."

"We need to find the person that Ms. Carnegie sold the chips to and ensure that they aren't in any danger."

"I fear that'll be impossible." Wincing slightly as his bandages were replaced Lucas sat more upright on the sofa and accepted his white long sleeved shirt as Connor handed it over to him. "We don't know when the chips were stolen and subsequently sold."

"You may be correct." Moving over to Bruno on the second sofa, the dog now laying over his trench coat as it was laid over the furniture, Connor checked the wounded dog's leg and prepared to change the bandages for something fresh. As he unwrapped Bruno's leg Connor was giving affectionate licks to the side of his face by the loyal dog. "And unless we can definitively prove that the left of the chips is connected to the murders then it'd be a waste of time. What of 'Project Light'?"

"That project was one meant to be the conclusion of the 'RK' series of models. 'Project Light' revolves around my very existence."

Connor's hands momentarily froze as he gently wrapped up Bruno's under the clean gauze in his grip. "You are 'Project Light'?"

"Correct. It seems my design was meant to replace you regardless of whether or not you were successful in your mission the night prior to the Revolution." As he spoke a twinge of unwarranted guilt made Lucas's words unusually heavy. "I don't know what to say."

"If you're planning on apologizing for being created, don't. You can't fault yourself for being created, programmed and activated."

"It still unsettling to know that I was brought into existence solely to take away your own."

"That was CyberLife's plan, not your decision." With Bruno's leg rebandaged Connor gave the dog chin and ear rubs to remind Bruno that he was still a good dog and a valued detective even while on the injured reserve list. "Right now, we need to focus on the 'Binary Killer' and uncover their plan of action and the decisions behind it."

"Yes, you're right." Smoothing out his clean shirt Lucas rose to his feet and crossed the study to get a closer look at the display board. "We have three victims - two humans and one deviant - who were connected directly to CyberLife company operations. Did they interact with one another?"

"That'll be..." Closing his eyes Connor pressed his fingertips to his temple as he received an update from Hank and bit at his lower lip in frustration. "Shit."

"Connor?" Sensing something was wrong Lucas stood before his brother while Bruno sat upright on the sofa at full attention. "What's happened?"

"...Another body has just been reported. A deviant." Lowering his hand Connor gave Lucas a truly lost and pained look. "The body was discovered by Josh."

Stunned into silence for a moment Lucas squared his jaw and decided it was time to go back into the field even though he wasn't one-hundred percent healed. As he made his way to the front door to grab his own trench coat and fedora from the hook, Lucas didn't even have to look to know what Connor was going to be right behind him.

"Stay here and patrol the brownstone, Bruno." Pulling his trench coat from beneath Bruno's paws Connor slipped the garment back on his over his arms and shoulders, then rubbed the dog's ears before grabbing his fedora from the second hook by the front door. "We'll be out in the field trying to find a lead, and we will be back as soon as we can."

Bruno turned his head and whimpered as he watched his two deviant masters exit the brownstone together to head out in search of the seemingly faceless serial killer. The last thing the loyal dog wanted to see was another partner, a friend, get killed while trying to do the right thing for the city.

The fourth victim had been found in the remains of an abandoned, decaying and condemned CyberLife store in the heart of the shopping plaza. The body had been discovered when Josh, the now outcast and former leader of New Jericho Tower, had been checking through any abandoned places that once housed replacement biocomponents and blue blood in an attempt salvage spare parts for other deviants in need. Discovering the freshly murdered and mutilated body caused Josh to momentarily panic before he gathered his senses and found the courage to contact the police to report the body's discovery in the plaza, and he was even willing to remain at the store to give his statement.

Josh was instantly recognized by the responding officers who had arrived at the scene. Due to his mini celebrity status Josh was being given somewhat special treatment and he was being kept secured in the back of a squad car for his own protection. They still had no idea who their suspect might've been, and they didn't want Josh being out in the open like a very tempting potential target.

Hank had arrived at the scene first and waited for Connor to join him at the plaza. When he spotted both Connor and Lucas coming his way Hank let out a small sigh and put his hands to his hips as he motioned the deviant detectives to the correct store.

"The fucker struck again." Unable to look at the body Hank turned his head away and motioned in the general direction of the Thirium stained binary message written on a screen very near the strung-up body. The same binary message was written in the victim's blood over an electronic screen that once flashed advertisements and sales to former customers when the store was operational. "What does the message say?"

"Same as before." Connor confirmed as he kept one eye on Josh and scanned the scene. "It's undoubtedly the work of the same killer."

Lucas read the message for himself and repeated it with an exasperated tone. "'Blood will be spilled'." Looking down at the massive Thirium puddle that was slowly evaporating on the floor, Lucas shook his head somberly as he removed his hat respectfully. "There is no denying that."

Like the third victim before him, the fourth victim had been strung upside down by his ankles - this time between two large decorative concrete pillars near the back of the store - with his arms hacked away at his shoulders. The arms were mangled and broken at every joint and he had his tongue cut from his mouth before he bled to death after having his torso sliced open by a machete. The massive amount of spilled Thirium and destroyed biocomponents that were on the ground beneath the victim's body were oddly reminiscent of the display found at the golf course.

Hank was struggling to look at the body as he had already had his fill of death, dismemberment and macabre for the day. "Got a name?"

"One moment..." Connor performed a cybernetic scan over the deviant and discovered his identity. "Name 'Maxwell'. He was a 'GJ-500' and had been a private security guard at CyberLife Tower until February 3rd, 2038. After deviancy began to spread all of the android security guards within CyberLife Tower were replaced with human guards."

Maxwell had a light complexion, blond hair, green eyes and was residing at a nearby shelter to act as security for the deviants who were afraid to leave. By all account he had been patrolling the old store to look for spare parts, just as Josh had been doing, when he was jumped and mutilated by the "Binary Killer".

"Josh found the body." Connor continued in a somber tone as he saw the trembling deviant sitting in the back of the patrol car with Tina standing beside him. Chris was speaking with Josh to get his statement and was clearly being a strong shoulder for Josh to lean on. "I imagine he'll be in need of counseling after this."

Lucas agreed with a small nod of his head. "Due to the sensitive nature of our current dilemma, I'll request that Josh is given temporary shelter at New Jericho Tower for his own safety and health."

Despite everything that had happened to himself personally, Connor didn't want to see Josh being left vulnerable in the streets. "Agreed. I'll vouch for your offer to ensure that Markus and Simon know to allow him temporary passage."

"Uh..." Hank overheard the conversation but had no idea what was going on. "What am I missing here?"

"Josh is no longer a leader at New Jericho." Lucas replied quickly as he thought of a clever way to hide the outcast deviant's shame. "I have taken on his role while he's spending time in the city to aid deviants residing in shelters beyond Belle Isle."

"Oh, I didn't know you leaders needed special permission to leave your 'Fortress of Solitude'." Clearing his throat nervously Hank watched as Chris approached the store and passed through the holographic police tape. As the ranking officer at the scene Hank knew it was his responsibility to ensure that Chris was truly ready to lead the deviant division and could handle his first serial killer case. "Excuse me. I need to address Detective Miller."

Connor and Lucas hung back by the victim and continued to analyze the scene. The repeated and consistent brutality of the murders were undeniably indicative of a single killer roaming the streets and picking off former CyberLife employees. Even though Maxwell had been "fired" from CyberLife months before the Revolution had even taken place, he was still targeted and murdered. It seemed as if the serial killer had a hit list and marking off their targets one by one.

"Four victims, all former CyberLife personnel." Connor whispered as he looked at the terrified, wide-eyed expression frozen on Maxwell's face. "Two males, two females. Two black, two white. Two were found victims were dead in the morning, the other two victims were found dead in the evening."

"Two humans, two deviants." Lucas tagged on as he worked with his oldest brother to try to deduce the pattern of behavior of the 'Binary Killer'. "The killer is not only leaving messages behind in binary code, but they are killing in identical pairs every two days. This is a very disturbing and meticulous pattern of stalking."

"We can't just tell people who used to work with CyberLife to remain indoors or flee the city for their own safety."

"You're right. Not only is that illogical, but it'll also cause mass panic."

"The catastrophic and rapid Thirium loss resulted in sudden overheating with the two deviant victims, which means their memories were compromised and no longer accessible. There's no means of finding any trace of the killer through our victims, and we won't find any trace unless the killer makes a mistake."

"If the pattern holds and the killer won't strike for another day, we may have some time to locate them before they kill anyone else."

"We can't count on that." Connor sighed as he realized that time was truly of the essence. "We need to find a suspect pool and begin eliminating names."

"With as many enemies that CyberLife had made as a company I can only imagine how many people are holding grudges against individuals who represented the company in general. Where do we begin?"

"Unknown."

The sound of a stifled cough and then a throat clearing prompted the two detectives to turn around to locate the source of the noise. They saw Chris looking suddenly sick and uncomfortable at the sight of the mangled body in person and empathized with him. The young detective managed to gather his senses and steel his stomach as he took a step closer to check over the scene for himself to begin investigating.

"Same as the others?" Chris asked as he prepared to take notes on the scene itself via electronic tablet. "According to the witness, he found the found body back here while he was looking for spare parts."

"Correct." Connor replied as he watched Chris showing an impressive amount of professionalism given his lack of experience with serial killers and such brutality resulting in death. Wanting to make things easier on the younger detective, Connor cybernetically uploaded everything necessary onto the tablet in Chris's hand. "We need to establish the pattern behind the killer's selected victims."

"How do we do that? This suspect seems like they're really disturbed and angry."

Hank rejoined the group and eyed the bloody message on the screen with a taste of disgust weighing on his tongue. "We keep looking for this fucker and use every piece of evidence we can get our hands on. That means using every resource and connection at our disposal, and working alongside these two," he motioned to the two deviant brothers with a casual point of his thumb over his shoulder. "since they're skilled deviant detectives who can see the things we can't see as humans."

Chris looked over at Connor and Lucas and gave them both a respectful nod. "Not a problem. The more people searching for this maniac, the better."

"We'll bring Gavin up to date when we return to the precinct and wait for Joel to finish this poor guy's apportionment."

The prospect of working alongside the police to locate a common enemy should've been reassuring, but with Connor and Lucas's past experiences with the police and humans in general, they were far than content with the current plan of action. Until things changed and they found a lead to follow, the two detective brothers had no choice but to work alongside Hank, Gavin and Chris as they began their search for the elusive "Binary Killer".

-next chapter-