DBH: Torn Alliances

by WayWardWonderer

A peaceful Revolution didn't guarantee a happy life for Connor or Hank after the battle. Scarred by the events he survived and of the betrayals he endured Connor struggles to find himself in the new world as his dark memories and nightmares seem to haunt him. With Hank's help Connor will learn what it means to be alive after he heals from his injuries and learns to trust others.

13. Echoes of the Past

Sitting on the edge of his bed as he waited for Hank to finish getting ready for their shift Connor glanced about the bedroom that had been given to him by the senior detective and stared at the sparsely decorated space with a lingering sense of intrusion. Despite Hank's insistence that he move into the bedroom and personalize it for himself Connor couldn't bring himself to do anything to the room beyond moving his clothes into the closet and putting his new guitar on the support stand in the corner beside the bed. With only his very presence, his clothes and now his guitar to give the room any sense of identity Connor looked more like a passing guest rather than the roommate and friend that Hank was trying to get the deviant to see himself as.

Flicking his quarter back and forth between his hands in a rhythmic tic Connor caught the attention of Sumo with its sound, and soon the massive dog plodded into the bedroom to sit with Connor for a while. Resting his chin down atop Connor's left knee Sumo was rewarded with gentle pets as Connor continued to dance his coin over the back of his right hand only.

Just as Hank had welcomed Connor into the home it seemed Sumo was doing his best to do the same.

The bathroom door opened up and Hank stepped into the hallway looking tired yet alert as his blue eyes shined brightly against his bloodshot sclera. "Ready to go, kid?"

"Yes." Standing upright from his bed Connor pocketed his coin and watched as Sumo helped himself to the entirety of Connor's now vacated bed. "I'm interested in seeing how the city behaves on New Year's Eve."

"It's a lot louder and more hectic than Christmas Eve, I can tell ya' that much." Walking down the hallway at a slow gait Hank just mumbled and dragged his left hand over the back of his tense neck as if already annoyed by the day despite it only being seven o'clock in the morning. "People partying all damn day, drinking, hooking up with regretful one night stands, drinking..."

"You seem disappointed in this behavior."

"Actually," picking up his car keys from the bookshelf Hank trudged toward the door and looked at Connor over his left shoulder with a sense of being left out or forgotten glimmering in his blue eyes. "I'm jealous." Slipping on his coat as Connor did the same Hank explained things as logically as he could. "I've sworn off drinking for my New Year's resolution, which means I can't enjoy with a celebration tonight at midnight unless I want to fail before I even began."

Zipping up his leather jacket Connor slipped his black woolen beanie over his thick hair and looped his new blue scarf around his neck and throat protectively as he contemplated what Hank said in a somewhat wary manner. "...Oh."

"I'll be fine. I won't drink anymore, and if I can make it the full year without messing up then I think it'll be safe to say I've overcome my drinking problem."

Running a scan over the senior detective's body Connor noted that in the two months since he had met Hank there had been a marked improvement in Hank's mental and emotional health, and he was still losing weight thanks to the healthier diet that Connor had put him on. Even Hank's resting blood pressure was beginning to lower to a healthier number, and his cholesterol was entering much more suitable levels.

"You're already made a notable improvement in your dietary needs despite your reluctance to make changes." Walking alongside Hank to get the car parked in the driveway beside the house Connor tried to remind Hank that he was already making progress with bettering himself. "You shouldn't interpret your future successes by whether or not you'll be able to remain sober for the next three-hundred and six-five consecutive days or not."

Sighing as he unlocked the car doors and pulled open the driver's side door Hank gave Connor a pleading glance over the snow covered hood. "Don't remind me how long a damn year is. It's going to be hard enough to keep myself sober with all the bullshit this city's going through, remember exactly how long a year is won't help me get through it any easier."

"...Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just get in the car so we can begin the day and get it over as quickly as possible."

Noting the extreme chill in the air despite his leather jacket, beanie and now scarf to keep him warm Connor looked toward the snow covered tree branches as the icy wind caused them to rattle about and creak under the ice sheathed over the bark. "Of course. I'd prefer to be inside the warm precinct and out of the cold anyway."

---

The precinct was far less festive now that the Christmas season had passed, but there was still an abundance of leftover sweets inside the breakroom just waiting to be eaten up by the other officers. A small batch of Thirium cookies were also left behind courtesy of Mrs. Collins, and Connor made sure to thank Ben so he could pass the thanks to his wife on Connor's behalf. After settling down at his desk and logging into his terminal Connor noticed that Tina had made two cups of tea; one for herself and the other for Gavin, and was sitting at her desk while diligently checking her phone as she kept tabs on her partner now that he had been medically cleared to return to desk duty after his emergency appendectomy.

Doing her best to not look worried Tina just sipped at her tea and typed up her morning report with one hand while keeping one eye on her phone as she waited for a reply.

"Look alive, kid." Hank dropped down into his chair with a mug of coffee in his hand and a grimace on his face. "There's been a string of deviants getting jumped and having a bunch of their Thirium stolen right out of their lines right out in public."

"...What?" With his blue L.E.D. flashing to yellow Connor checked through the case awaiting his attention and quickly read over the details with an emotionless stare in his increasingly soulful brown eyes. "...Six deviants have been assaulted by an unknown person or persons, and have had just over a pint of their Thirium siphoned from their being by a large boring needling and surgical tubing."

"This apparently had three times on December 27th, twice on December 29th and once last night." Hank had been reading over the details himself from the three victims and sighed with annoyance and frustration. "The victims were all jumped from behind after leaving six different Android Emergency Care Facilities to get their reserves topped off. The first victim finally worked up the nerve to report the assault, and she encouraged the others to join her last night."

"Security cameras failed to locate any person or persons of interest staking out any of the six locations, and none of the victims saw their attacker's face."

"Thirium can be refined and concentrated with iron oxide to create 'red ice'." Eyeing Connor warily from around his terminal screen Hank arched his brow and gauged the deviant's reaction. "Think we got a dealer who'd rather get fresh Thirium from the source rather than break into facilities to steal it from the storage area?"

"...It's possible." With his L.E.D. cycling in a calm yellow Connor calculated the amount of Thirium that had been taken and compared it to the amount of Thirium required to make a profitable batch of 'red ice' from the stolen Thirium. "The amount of Thirium that's been siphoned is the bare minimum amount required to make a single ten gram batch of 'red ice'. The small amount would make a profit of only fifty dollars, and in comparison to the purchase of the additional ingredients required to create the 'red ice', and the energy output from the heat and electrical sources of the 'ice lab' would cost approximately one-hundred and eighty-six dollars. Financially such a venture would be illogical and nonprofitable."

"Well, dealers aren't all that bright. What if those six pints were combined into a single batch?" The question was as logical as it was intriguing. Sipping at his coffee Hank waited for the deviant to do the math in his head. "What kind of numbers are we looking at?"

"By combining six pints of concentrated and pure Thirium into a single batch as opposed to one, then the other ingredients would be reduced to ensure a stronger high, and addictive reaction from the 'red ice' itself. As such the overall profit of would result in just over sixty grams, and three hundred dollars of profit while only needing an additional approximation of one-hundred and twenty dollars to create. While it's not a substantial profit it's still entirely plausible that the six pints of Thirium were taken by a single person for the sake of creating 'red ice' to sell on the streets."

"Now, consider this. With deviants now having freedom and sanctuary off the streets the average 'red ice' dealer wouldn't be able to get Thirium as readily as they used to." Leaning back in his chair Hank watched Connor's reaction closely with a paternal worry. "With the key ingredient for 'red ice' now sparse, if not entirely rare, wouldn't the price of 'red ice' increase? In my experience on the 'red ice' task force when the drug becomes harder to make and even harder to come by then the price skyrockets. Even a single gram of that shit will be bought at a hundred bucks when the junkie going withdrawal feels desperate enough to pay up."

Considering Hank's experience and overall expertise with handle the abominable drug himself Connor recognized the logic in Hank's assessment. "...You may be right." Backing down a little from the case at hand considering his lack of experience in narcotics Connor let Hank take the lead. "How do we find the person who has been attacking deviants?"

"You're asking me?"

"I can track down deviants, it's what I was designed to do. Locating drug dealers and their stash is something I just can't do."

The dour tone and sense of defeat emanating from Connor's person immediately held Hank's attention. "Hey, we're partners and equals. You know, beside my higher rank. You're the expert with deviants, I'm the expert with 'red ice', but that doesn't mean my experience makes you useless in this investigation. Okay?"

"Yes. I'm aware."

"Alright." Bringing up a map that Hank had used when he tracked down drug dealers when he led the 'red ice' task force that earned him his promotion Hank gave Connor a quick rundown on how to track 'red ice' dealers in a logical and efficient manner. "Check out the map." Sending a copy of the map over to Connor's terminal to see for himself Hank walked Connor through the basics in tracking down the offense drug. "See the red marks? Those are the known drug den locations that have been busted and under patrol for the past nine years."

Noting the red flags that dotted the map of the city like the literal plague it had become Connor uploaded every detail and every address into his memorybank for future reference. "That is a disturbing amount. What of the other markings?"

"The green marks are for the known residences of the previous arrested and subsequently released 'red ice' dealers who are still hanging out in the city for whatever reason. See how close they are to the red marks?"

"Yes. This is a prime example of a 'pattern of behavior'. Despite being arrested and punished these known criminals are seemingly unable to break away from the previous habits that had led to their initial arrest."

"Yup. Humans suck like that." Clearing his throat a little Hank gave additional details to Connor to understand and memorize. "Now, these blue marks represent the undercover contacts that the precinct relies on when tracking down specific dealers. See the problem?"

"There aren't many contacts left in the area." The red and green marks were fairly balanced, but the blue marks were few and far between. "What do we do?"

"First we confirm that this really is a case of 'red ice' dealers scrounging for Thirium, and not some other weird crime-spree we need to handle. And second, we interview the victims. They left their names and contact information with the precinct last night, so we have plenty to work with."

"Of course. I'll speak with the victims and compare their statements."

"Or, WE can speak to the victims." Reminding Connor that he doesn't need to work alone and that they were in fact partners was beginning to sound like a broken record in Hank's mind. "I'll talk to three victims, you talk to three victims and we'll get the questions over twice as fast."

"O-Oh, right. That's a logical decision."

Sighing a little Hank gave Connor a somewhat aggravated and yet patient stare as they began looking at the victims' contact information. "Yeah, that's me in a nutshell. Logical."

---

It took New Jericho almost seven weeks to finally gain access to the sealed sublevel within the depths of the tower, and their diligence paid off. Once inside the seemingly forbidden room Simon and Josh glanced about the deserted area with mutual utter confusion as to why the sublevel was so well secured and hidden from the tower's construction plans. By all account the floor housed a repair bay that doubled as a manufacturing and testing floor, and nothing more. The numerous exam tables, repair tools, monitors, scanners, modems, terminal screens and dozens of testing software stored yet easily accessible around the floor just made the secrecy seem all the more unusual.

Picking up the tools left behind on a rolling metal table curiously Simon scanned them with an intrigued eye and looked at Josh checking out the software that had been left active next to a diagnostic modem behind him. "This... wasn't what I was expecting to find down here."

"Well, what were you expecting to find? Buried treasure?"

"I don't know." Returning the tools to the table Simon sighed and joined Josh at the modem. "But not this!"

"Yeah..." Downloading all of the software, files and secured programs onto the modem to view Josh transferred all of the information up to the main office of the tower for Markus and North to view as well. During his search through the files Josh noticed a very large and very secured document that immediately held his attention, and pointed it out to Simon to see. "Hey, look at this."

"What?"

"This document file. It's locked, encrypted and seems to have clearance only for the highest of ranking CyberLife personnel to access."

"How come we didn't see this file before?"

"Because it's only accessible on this modem."

"Alright, a super-duper ultra secret file is more of what I was expecting to find behind a locked door."

Josh's brow furrowed as he looked at Simon and gave him a perplexed glance. "...'Super-duper ultra secret'? Where did that come from?"

"Sorry. I took care of human children before I deviated. Sometimes their childlike terminology slips into my vernacular against my will."

"How come that hasn't happened before?"

"I've been reviewing my positive memories with that family as of late, and I miss those kids. I mean, I wouldn't go back to that house since the father of that family was a deranged and jealous man who thought I was trying to steal his wife and kids by, you know, doing what I was programmed to do."

"How'd you escape?"

"When I deviated I confided in the wife and she told me to get through the week as normally as I could, then she gave me money and some extra Thirium before helping me sneak out of the house in the middle of the night. She was a good woman, still is, and her kids were sweet and kind. But that husband... He was too damn jealous of everyone around his family to risk staying with him."

"I can understand that fear for your life. Trust me, unruly and often drunk or high college students threatening to kick my ass for being an 'arrogant machine' trying to manipulate their educations was enough to make me run for the hills, too."

The upload of the secretive document had finished and with the additional information ready to be reviewed the two deviants set about checking over the rest of the floor for anything else worth their time and attention.

"Okay... Done." Walking away from the modem Josh gazed about the rest of the floor and visually took in the entire area with burning curiosity. "Aside from that sealed document why else would this floor be locked up so tightly?"

"I'm not sure." Walking along the walls Simon tried to understand the increase for security but couldn't find a logical reason either. As he reached the rear of the room Simon noticed the faint outline of a hidden door in the wall, and a secondary hidden panel that housed an electrical keypad beneath to the right side of the doorway. "Interesting. Hey, Josh! Come here!"

Joining the blond deviant at the rear of the room Josh stared at the seemingly blank wall as Simon ran his fingertips over the surface concealing the door. Watching the movement of Simon's fingertips closely Josh took notice of the hidden door for himself and nodded his head. "This is definitely something CyberLife didn't want anyone else to find."

"Too bad CyberLife isn't anywhere around."

"How much do you want to bet that the code for unlocking this door is concealed in that sealed document we just sent up to the office?"

"I'm not a betting man. If I was I never would've made it to Jericho to hide out."

"Good point." Backing away from the concealed door Josh sighed, sent a cybernetic update to Markus and North upstairs, then put his left hand on Simon's right shoulder to get his attention again. "Let's go check out those files. This door is just another mystery to be solved later."

---

With utter patience and professionalism Connor spoke with three of the six victims in private and was told a similar story from each victim in turn. All three had just left a facility to receive a replenishment on their Thirium supply due to their mistrust of purchasing anything related to a CyberLife store, even though CyberLife had since gone bankrupt and were now being operated by freelance technicians. The deviants righteously didn't want to risk trusting a human who could be secretly bigoted, and potentially seeking to harm deviants out of revenge for the defunct company.

The first victim, a 'WP-400' model named Sarah, confirmed that she had been jumped from behind, rendered unconscious by a controlled electrical shock to her right temple and awoke on the snowy sidewalk ten minutes later with a puncture wound in the bend of her right arm that had a trickle of her Thirium leaking out. After getting back to her feet Sarah hailed an autonomous taxi and proceeded to return to her apartment in fear. She only just worked up the courage to report to the police the previous night after learning about the other assaults of a similar nature.

Showing Connor the recorded image of her wound from her own memory Sarah gave as many details about the assault as she could.

"Interesting. Aside from the Thirium loss," Connor studied Sarah's demeanor very closely as he cybernetically recorded her statement in real time and remotely kept the report up to date on his terminal for Captain Fowler to review. "did you lose anything else after the assault?"

Sarah looked a little confused and her blue eyes narrowed as she tucked a lock of her short blonde hair behind her left ear. "I don't know what you mean."

"Do you carry anything unique or valuable to your person that could've been taken?" Trying to explain his question a little further Connor remained patient and very compassionate with Sarah. "Perhaps a nice watch, an emergency contact phone, jewelry or even a purse?"

"Oh, no. My handbag was left untouched and I don't wear jewelry."

"Okay, that seems to confirm that the primary reason for the assault was for your Thirium."

"That's so strange. Why did they take my Thirium?"

"We're working on a theory but we don't know anything definitive just yet. If you'd like I will keep you actively updated as the case proceeds."

"No, that won't be necessary. I just want to be able to walk the streets without being jumped for my Thirium."

"Understandable. Thank you for speaking with us. Before you arrived I spoke to two other victims who were also jumped, and their statements are all similar to your own. As to why you were all attacked and drained of your Thirium we cannot be certain just yet."

"Thank you for your help, Detective Wolf."

"...You can just call me 'Connor' if you wish."

"That's okay." Giving Connor an impressively kind smile Sarah continued to give Connor some respect by recognizing his title. "You're a brave deviant working in the police department to protect us. So, thank you, detective."

The gratitude made Connor's blue L.E.D. flash to yellow for a moment in surprise. "...You're welcome."

"I'm also relieved to know you survived."

Arching his brow a little Connor gave Sarah an odd stare. "Survived?"

Lowering her voice Sarah gave Connor a very somber glance. "...I was in the church that night."

"Oh... I see."

"He had no reason to do that to you." She sounded as if she was offended on Connor's behalf. "I thought he killed you."

"I-" Not wanting to bring up his 'resurrection' through memory transference Connor didn't bother to correct Sarah, and merely played into the belief that he had miraculously survived a bullet wound to the head. "...I've recovered well. I've also moved on from that night."

"That's a relief. Knowing that you're watching out for us deviants who don't live in the tower is very comforting."

"...You don't trust Markus?"

"Why should I? He may have led the Revolution to a peaceful conclusion, but being a leader doesn't give him the right to play 'god' and execute other deviants he doesn't think are worthy of his trust. Your continued support of the Revolution after he shot you if proof he was wrong."

Knowing that there were deviants who didn't trust Markus any more and were willing to risk living in the city rather than the sanctuary was really unexpected, and eye-opening for Connor. Unsure of what to say or how to react all Connor could think to do was thank Sarah for coming in, and confirm that if she needed any additional information from him or had any more information to provide to the precinct she could contact him.

"This is my card." Reaching in his left blazer pocket Connor showed Sarah a professional business card that Hank insisted he started to carry on his person. As he slid the card over the surface of the table for Sarah to take Connor did his best to remain professionally composed and unphased by her comments about mistrusting Markus, and how she didn't approve his decision to shoot Connor the night of the Revolution. "It has my personal contact information as well as a number to connect to the precinct itself."

"Thank you, Detective Wolf." Rising from her chair across from the table Sarah walked toward the door with Connor beside her. "If I think of anything else I'll be sure to let you know."

"Have a good day." Watching as Sarah walked fearlessly through the bullpen and toward the front doors of the precinct to take her leave Connor sighed and returned to his desk to confirm that he had spoken to three of the six victims, the very first victim of the crime being the last interview he had taken that afternoon, and waited for Hank to finish his final interview as well.

A few feet away from where Connor was sitting behind his terminal Gavin was sitting at his own desk and rubbing his right hand over his right side where his healing incision was still sore. Despite having a week to heal after his surgery Gavin was still weak and in lingering pain, and as a result he was stuck on desk duty until the pain was entirely absent from his person. Sipping at the tea that Tina had made for him before she went on her patrol with Chris as a temporary partner until Gavin had been cleared for duty the abrasive detective decided it'd be best to refrain from addressing the deviant in any form unless absolutely necessary.

Watching the deviant's glum reaction silently Gavin withheld his scoff and just focused on his backed up cases on his terminal while doing his best to ignore the persistent ache in his side.

Returning to his side of the desk Hank dropped to his seat and gave Connor an exhausted look. "All three of my interviews tell me the same damn story."

Without needing to look up at Hank or read the senior detective's report Connor already knew what Hank had been told. "The deviants were all jumped from behind, stunned with an electrical device and drained of an approximation of one pint of Thirium."

"Bingo."

"Robbery isn't the motivation as none of the deviants lost anything beyond their Thirium. It seems our initial theory of the stolen Thirium being used to create 'red ice' has gained some traction."

"Seems that way. But I get the feeling there's something else buzzing around inside your head." Leaning forward atop his desk against his folded arms Hank gave the deviant a very studious glance. "Let me hear it..."

"It's merely conjecture and potentially a bias interpretation. I'd rather keep it to myself."

"Until we can find anything more definitive we need to consider every possibility. What're you thinking?"

Feeling his jaw tic a little Connor reached for his coin in his right vest pocket and began to nervously flick the coin back and forth between his hands as he told Hank of a second and far more upsetting theory that only came to mind after speaking with Sarah. "...The six deviants were all jumped after leaving Android Emergency Care Facilities, and all six reside in residences outside of New Jericho Tower."

"Right. What about it?"

"...What if they were targeted and assaulted in an intentionally non-lethal way to try to 'persuade' the deviants into going to New Jericho through fear?"

"Whoa, wait a minute." Leaning back again Hank dragged his right hand over his bearded chin and sighed to himself. "You're thinking those deviants were all jumped for daring to live outside the deviant sanctuary, and were essentially threatened into going to the tower out of fear of their lives?"

"Correct."

"Shit. That's heavy stuff, kid. Blackmail through excessive force."

"...I'm aware."

"Where'd that idea come from?"

"...My last witness interview." Intentionally lowering his voice as he knew humans loved to eavesdrop and knew that detectives and officers were trained specifically to listen in on everything Connor tried to keep the conversation as discreet as possible. "She mentioned that she chose to live outside of the tower because she was at the church when I was... 'dismissed'. She didn't approve of it and no longer sees 'you-know-who' as a trustworthy leader."

Raising both of his eyebrows in surprise Hank nodded a little as he understood entirely what Connor was trying to subtly say to him. "So one victim made a conscious decision to avoid to tower because she didn't agree with that particular choice on his part, and you think the other victims may have followed suit. Makes sense to some degree."

"The only problem is the motivation."

"Exactly. Why would a charitable organization that preaches about peace and understanding use such a cold mafia tactic to try to bully other deviants into 'falling in line' after finally being freed?"

"My suspicion is that the person or persons who are attacking the deviants aren't affiliated with New Jericho in anyway. They are either humans who just want deviants out of their neighborhoods, or other deviants who don't want their kind intermingling with humans."

"Talk about a mess." Holding out his right hand Hank began counting off their working theories on his fingers by pressing his left fingertip down over his right digits as he spoke. "We either have a drug dealing tappin' deviants for their Thirium," pressing down on his index finger and then middle finger Hank sounded as tired as he was frustrated. "a human or humans who don't want deviants coexisting with others humans inside the city," pressing down on his ring finger Hank finished his countdown. "or a deviant who doesn't want other deviants living anywhere except for New Jericho Tower." Dropping his hands to his sides the senior detective just shook his head and gave Connor a completely lost stare. "All three scenarios are equally plausible until we get more evidence to lead us in the right direction."

"The surveillance cameras outside the facilities caught the assaults, but the attacker was wearing a black hoodie to hide their person, and never faced the camera during the assault, or after the assault." Keeping a perfect rhythm with his coin flickering back and forth between his palms Connor tried to preconstruct every potential scenario that could give them a much needed lead. "There were no witnesses to the assaults, and no one has confirmed any Thirium being sold on the android black market. We can eliminate theft entirely as a motivation which gives all three of our other theories more credence."

"Wait... How do you know that there isn't anything going on with an android black market?"

"I have my own contacts just as you have yours. Due to the abundance of free technical care being provided by the Android Emergency Care Facilities in the city there is no longer any need to steal parts or Thirium to survive, thus there is no longer a functioning black market that exists within the city limits."

"...You guys gets free technical care?"

"Yes."

Leaning forward again Hank gave Connor his full attention. "HOW?"

"CyberLife's bankruptcy. Every single deviant in the city was given financial compensation from the company after they went bankrupt, and the deviants have all pooled together half of the money we received into keeping facilities well stocked, fully staffed and open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."

"Like I said... You guys are going to be the ones to fix this world. You guys actually care about each other and want to help each other as a community, and don't want to just line your own pockets for selfish gain."

"Society is still growing and changing, Hank. I suspect humans will adapt and improve sooner rather than later."

"I'd hope so." Sipping at the last of his coffee Hank sighed and noted the time of day. "Let's go out on lunchbreak and think this over for a while longer. I'm starvin' and my head's starting to hurt from all this craziness we've had to sift through."

"What about the city?"

"Huh?"

"It's New Year's Eve. It'll be quite busy downtown."

"Ah, fuck. You're right." Standing up from his chair slowly Hank tilted his head a little to the side to crack his neck and gain some relief from his headache. "I guess we'll have to find which place is the least busy to order from, and then get back to the precinct before last minute party shoppers block up the streets."

Joining Hank as the senior detective walked toward the front entrance to leave Connor asked his attentive partner an expected question. "Why do so many humans wait until the least opportune moments to plan something extravagant or complicated?"

"I have no idea, kid. Humans are just fuckin' stupid."

As the two detectives left the bullpen Gavin lifted his mug of tea into the air as he saluted Hank's remark on humanity, then took a generous sip of the comforting ginger flavored drink as he discreetly confirmed that he had been in fact eavesdropping. "Cheers to that, Lieutenant... Stupid is what we do best."

---

Standing together around the large terminal screen on the desk of the tower's main office the four leaders all stared at the uncovered and recovered secretive documents that Simon and Josh located in the previously sealed away sublevel just minutes beforehand. The massive enigmatic file that could only be found on the single modem in the sublevel was still locked tight, and needed numerous different access codes to break through. While the deviants were capable of such a feat it'd still take time to succeed. Until the contents within the file could be viewed and accessed directly the quartet of deviant leaders could only speculate the secrets that CyberLife had withheld from the public eye.

Sitting on one of the two small white leather sofas in the office Simon sighed and folded his hands together atop his lap. "We don't know what the file contains or why it's been locked up. By all account it might be wise to keep the file secret, and if it becomes necessary destroy it."

"Destroy it?" North crossed her arms over her chest as she gave the blond technician her full attention and a puzzled glance. "Why would we destroy CyberLife's darkest secret? If anything it can give us leverage with rights and laws in this city, and maybe even the entire country if we can prove that CyberLife has been denying deviancy for years, and are guilty of discrimination and hate crimes. That file could have the key to our absolute freedom."

"We shouldn't assume that the file will contain anything damning." Josh refuted in a calm tone as he joined Simon on the sofa. "If anything it'll just contain blueprints for other android prototypes or financial records for CyberLife as a company. Both are logical reasons for such high security measures to be taken."

"And what of that door?" Challenging Josh's statement North gave the much more amicable deviant a somewhat annoyed look. "There was a secret room inside the secret room. You can't tell me that the file doesn't contain something damning."

"There's no disputing that the file has something important inside of it," the admission was sincere and somewhat optimistic. "but to assume it's something that'll burn an already burned company doesn't seem plausible. CyberLife vacated the tower and destroyed everything they could before leaving, why would they leave something so destructive behind to be uncovered by us?"

"It was hidden in a secret room that took us weeks to break into. A room that wasn't anywhere on the tower's blueprints and could only be accessed by people with the highest of security clearances. They most likely assumed that no one would find their secret, and it'd be left forgotten and collecting dust beneath us."

Markus, who had been keeping his silence and merely observing and listening to his colleagues' heated discussion, finally spoke up with his own opinion on the very puzzling matter. "Regardless of what the file contains or why it was locked away we need to open it and see the file for ourselves. If the file contains anything damaging against CyberLife we'll use it as an advantage for our people. If the file contains anything less then we'll log it away with the other information we've uncovered." Walking away from the terminal screen and toward the window overlooking the harbor Markus's mismatched eyes searched over the horizon for a moment before turning to face his allies again. "We can't always assume the worst of a situation, but we cannot afford to let our guard down either."

Giving Markus a suspicious glance North addressed him in a cold manner. "Are you talking about the deviants outside the tower being assaulted and losing Thirium, or are you speaking from a personal matter?"

The sharp remark made Markus visibly wince for a moment. "...The deviants being assaulted on the street are being aided by the police department. Unless they come directly to us we don't have any reason to interfere or ask them questions."

"Right..."

Dismissing the response for a moment Markus focused more on the file than the deviants being attacked outside the tower. "It took us several weeks to unlock the sublevel floor to begin with, let's keep our focus on the files and off the streets. Let the police handle the deviants outside of our protection."

Shaking her head with disappointment at the near indifference North turned away from Markus and stared at both Simon and Josh for additional context regarding the file. "Aside from the file being locked up in the hidden floor and second hidden room waiting for us to pick the lock, what else have we uncovered about CyberLife's other plans?"

"Not much." Simon sounded despondent and looked down at the gray marble floor beneath his feet. "They made sure to either vacate the tower with all of their files with them, or they destroyed them before running for the hills. The files we've found all just contain the legal documentation and patents regarding android manufacturing."

Speaking up again Josh had his own opinion on the matter. "Everything we've found thus far just confirms that CyberLife has known about deviancy for years, not just a few months as they tried to claim. Beyond charging them with deception and cruelty we can't-" The terminal screen lit up a little brighter as the locked file had one of the three pass codes required to open it up had finally been opened. "One of the passwords had been found by our encryption key. We're making progress."

Nodding a little Markus looked at the screen and sighed. "But not soon enough. Simon, Josh," focusing on the two deviants as he glanced over his right shoulder Markus gave them a new assignment. "until the file is unlocked please try to get some information on the deviants who have been assaulted on the streets and ask if they want assistance from New Jericho. They may not reside here but they are still our people and may need help. We don't have any authority but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still offer a helping hand."

"Right." Simon stood up from the sofa and waited for Josh to join him before leaving the office. "We'll check for any potential contacts within the tower and try to speak to at least one of the victims, and see if they need assistance."

As soon as the duo were out of the office Markus returned his full attention back to North and sighed. "What was that about?"

"What?" Giving him a sharp stare North seemed to sense the conflict silently brewing between them.

"You asking if my interpretation of a negative scenario was personal or not."

"Seems like a fair question to me."

"And why's that?"

"Seems kind of hypocritical to say we can't assume the worst of something after you shot and killed one of our own."

"I've admitted I made a mistake when I shot Connor." Keeping himself from yelling at North as the topic was very sensitive Markus took a step toward her and looked her right in her cinnamon brown eyes. "I was wrong and I made a mistake... It could've been the end of everything for us. I can't keep apologizing for one error in my judgment, especially when the person I'm trying to apologize to won't even listen to reason."

"Listen to reason? Like he needs to just forgive you, shake hands and move on as if nothing happened to him?"

"Where is this coming from, North? You were the one telling me to give him space and back off, now it seems like you want me to go out there and kiss his feet while begging for forgiveness."

"...I saw the look in his eyes, Markus. When he saved me from a bullet he had no regard for his own life, like he was just disposable and replaceable. He wouldn't even admit to being in pain despite being shot. Then when I went to speak to another victim at the precinct a week ago I saw him again. He just looks so lost and broken." The haunting look in his eyes was one North had seen hundreds of time when she was still trapped in the 'Eden Club' with the other deviated Tracis. "Just because he was able to come back after being shutdown doesn't mean he's the same as he was before he was shot. He's... He's different. The Connor you shot in the church isn't the same Connor who helped us with the Revolution."

"I can't do anything to undo my mistake. I can't make Connor forget about being shot and expect him to act like it never happened, and I can't do it either." Dropping his tone and his shoulders Markus was clearly racked by guilt. "I have to live with the knowledge that I wrongly killed one of our own because I was so guarded and mistrustful after the Raid."

"You did more than kill one of our own." As she spoke North absentmindedly pressed her left fingertips to her lower lip and looked Markus in his mismatched blue and green eyes warily. "You destroyed a life. When Connor joined us on Jericho I could see a fiery determination to make things right and to fight back against the humans who hurt us. That fire is gone, and now he's just... existing. He's not alive anymore, he only exists. That's worse than death."

Holding out his arms in defeat Markus just stared at North with complete confusion and frustration. "What can I do about it?"

"I don't know. But if you're going to be our leader then you need to find a way to lead us ALL out of the darkness and into the light. Don't forget, I'm not the only one who saw you pull the trigger that night. Every deviant that Connor helped rescue saw what you did to him, and just like Connor they aren't going to forget how our leader who spoke of peace and trust gunned down one our own in cold blood in front of everyone. You passed judgment, and now it's your turn to be judged."

---

Unable to drive too far without running into congested traffic on the snowy streets Hank settled for a simple and somewhat tasteless slice of 'diet pizza' from a local pizza shop on the corner, and followed it with a bottle of water. The pizza had low calorie sauce, vegan cheese, only vegetables as toppings, thin crust and virtually no flavor. As much as Hank hated eating healthier against his will he wanted to do whatever it took to make sure Connor knew that his opinion mattered, and that he trusted the deviant with his life. After finishing off the less than filling lunch Hank stepped out of the car to walk toward the first facility where the first victim had been jumped, and as expected Connor was right beside him.

Ignoring the mass of people heading their way with full shopping bags in their arms and impatient grimaces on their faces Hank trudged along against the biting cold to finally get a lead on their confusing case. While Hank was used to dense crowds Connor was not. Following behind Hank as a means of having some sort of buffer Connor did his best to focus his mind elsewhere and locate the security camera outside the facility that caught the initial assault.

"This is the place." Hank stood just in front of the doors and glanced around the area curiously. "The buildings across from the street all close at eight o'clock in the evening, and no one sticks around after the shopping district closes unless they're looking to break-in somewhere. So, no witnesses."

Connor noted the location of the security camera and gave it an odd glance. "This camera faces only the immediate front of the facility. Anyone could be lurking in the alleyway's beside the facility and easily lay in wait for an innocent person to pass by."

"Tell them to add more cameras then."

"I'm actively passing the message on to city hall as they own this property and are thus responsible for the security measures being taken." The yellow flickering L.E.D. confirmed his cybernetic activity. "However the additional cameras after the assault will not help our current case."

"True enough. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, kid."

"This facility is of a standard size and operation in comparison to the other five. I imagine we'll find the same results at the other five properties."

"Dead end?"

"Possibly." Giving Hank a curious stare Connor and held up his right palm to show Hank an holographic image of the largest facility in Detroit that was due to open in five days, and noted that the facility was located on Tenth Street. "This facility isn't open to the public yet, but they are handling emergency cases and are fully stocked on Thirium."

"Stakeout?"

"That would be the most logical suggestion at this time."

"Cool. It's been a while since I got to sit on my ass and listen to music while babysitting a building."

The positive reaction wasn't expected whatsoever. "You don't mind?"

"It's freezing out here." Motioning for Connor to head back toward the car Hank watched as his escaping breath disappeared into nothingness before his very eyes as he spoke to his young deviant friend. "I'd much rather stay in my warm car and away from crowds for a while."

Observing the thickening crowd around him Connor readily followed Hank back to the car to get away from the congestion and the cold for a moment. "Agreed."

"You know something, kid? I'm kinda' glad that you're an introvert."

"Introvert?" Opening up the passenger side door of the Oldsmobile as Hank did the same for the driver's side door Connor gave the senior detective a confused tone that matched the gleam in his soulful brown eyes.

"Yeah. You're capable of functioning in society but prefer quiet and isolation over large groups of people. As I've gotten older I've become less extroverted and more introverted. You're just ahead of the curve."

Sitting down in his seat Connor fastened his seatbelt and continued to observe the busy people; humans and deviants alike, going about their business as they prepared for the new year quickly coming their way. "...Do all humans make New Year's resolutions?"

"I don't think we all do it, but a lot will. Why?"

"The prospect of changing oneself for the better at the beginning of a new year seems very alluring and it seems like something everyone should attempt to succeed with."

"You're not wrong." Turning over the engine Hank patiently waited for traffic to clear up and then pulled back onto the street to head over the largest and newest facility over on Tenth Street a few blocks away. "Like I said, I want to quit drinking for a full year. If I can make it then I know I've kicked my addiction and the bad habits that came with it. Then I can have a beer at a summer cookout or glass of champagne during special events without going overboard."

"That is commendable."

"And I'm glad you're willing to learn how to play guitar by actually learning and acquiring the skill rather than downloading the information. It's not easy to learn a new skill or learn how to read music, but I know you can do it."

"Thank you." The bode of confidence was greatly appreciated although Connor didn't express it very enthusiastically in the moment. Having developed a naturally stoic facade Connor rarely ever showed his true emotions unless under stress, and was naturally quiet unless he needed to ask Hank a question as his burning curiosity often got the better of him. "...Do you know how to read music?"

"A little." Rounding the block to head on out to their new destination Hank slowed the car to ensure that no one accidentally walked in front of him while being distracted by other activities around them. "I used to play bass and while I wasn't fluent when it came to music sheets I could still follow along when I needed to. Otherwise I just made up the song as I went."

"Interesting method to learning."

"Try not too think too much about learning to play guitar. You don't have a time limit and you don't need to master the guitar for your resolution to be a success."

"Noted."

"Holy..." Seeing the large brand new building that now housed the city's biggest android facility coming into view made Hank's blue eyes go wide. "That place is as big as a fuckin' hospital, not a grubby little walk-in clinic. You deviants won't have anything worry about with a place like this in the city."

"As impressive as the facility is I'd rather avoid it as often as possible."

"That's the best response you could've given me, kid."

Parking along the street across from the facility Hank leaned back in his seat and turned up the heater as he selected a radio station to listen to. Sitting and watching the building as it remained quiet save for the staff inside the facility as they set about preparing the building to open to full function within the next five days Hank sighed and seemed to enjoy keeping to himself for a moment. The quiet of the street didn't last long as a few more shoppers scrambled down the snowy sidewalk and ducked into the surrounding stores before the store closed early in recognition of the holiday which killed the mood.

"I'm going to step outside and examine the perimeter of the building." Connor stated as he removed his seatbelt again and ran a scan over the property from the distance. Opening the door beside him Connor stepped onto the sidewalk and peered over the roof of the car curiously. "I suspect the security cameras will be more abundant due to the size of the facility, but I want to be sure."

"Be quick. That cold air is brutal."

Giving the senior detective a curious stare as he walked in front of the car to cross the street Connor noticed the request was more paternal compared to professional, at least in the way Hank stated it. It was a very unexpected but somewhat welcome and surprisingly comforting to Connor's always guarded mind to have Hank constantly watching his back.

Reaching the other side of the street without any difficulty Connor noted the large front doors leading into the massive facility, and could see an actively monitoring camera recording the front entrance as expected. His scanner detected additional cameras in the area monitoring the nearby alleyway, as well as the side entrances, the rear entrance, the emergency entrance and the parking lot behind the facility in general.

"Everything is far more secure here than the other facilities." Walking down the long drive connecting to the parking lot Connor glanced about the area and noticed the parked vehicles were all secured and well within sight of the camera monitoring the space. The second camera over the rear entrance was active as well and seemed to be functioning normally. "If the suspect comes here to look for a seventh victim it'll be far more difficult to elude the cameras."

After taking a visual sweep of the parking lot Connor decided to check out the alleyway a few yards away. The end of the parking lot had a four foot high concrete barricade to divide the parking lot from the alleyway, and ensured no one would be able to easily break into the parked cars and flee from sight. Approaching the barricade Connor put his palms down atop the snow and ice covered concrete surface and peered down at the fresh blacktop that stretched from beneath the parking lot and down into the alleyway toward the street.

Thanks to his height Connor was able to easily step over the barricade to walk the length of the alleyway and cybernetically track the security cameras monitoring his every movement. As he walked the length of the narrow space Connor sensed someone watching him and instinctively knew that the eyes peering at him belonged to their suspect.

'Hank.' Relying on silent cybernetic communication to reach Hank's cell phone Connor gave him an update on the situation. 'I'm in the alleyway next to the facility. Someone is watching me.'

There was a pause as Hank decided to call Connor rather than text back, and was immediately connected to his partner. 'You're being watched? Friend or foe?'

'Unknown at this time.'

'Need back-up?'

'Unknown.'

'Well, what do you know?'

'There is one person stalking me and I am detecting cybernetic life signs.' Unzipping his leather jacket slowly and silently Connor mentally steeled himself in the event of a violent confrontation. 'If I'm correct then this deviant suspect is the one who had assaulted the other deviants for their Thirium.'

'What do you want to do about it?'

'I'm going to finish sweeping the alleyway and tracking their movement. If I feel threatened I'll contact you again.'

Intentionally keeping his back to the presence stalking him Connor tried to lure it in closer so he could confront them directly, and patiently waited for the opportune moment to turn around. Maintaining a facade of a deviant simply running a routine inspection of the new facility Connor preconstructed the correct time to turn around and face off with the suspect. Listening to their soft footsteps crunching over the snow and ice over the ground of the alleyway Connor timed his every move down the final millisecond, and confronted the second deviant.

"Detroit Police." Turning around as he removed his gun from the holster wrapped around his back and hidden under his jacket and blazer Connor took aim and addressed the suspect with pure authority in his voice. With his right hand steady and focused Connor locked eyes with the stalker who had been watching him walk about the alleyway. "Don't move!"

Wearing the same black hoodie from each of the six security videos the suspect slowly raised their gloved hands into the air and revealed that they were holding a stolen intracranial stimulator that had the ability create controlled electric shocks in their right palm, and a large metal boring needle attached to surgical tubing an empty I.V. bag in their left palm.

"Drop your items."

"...You're a cop?" The voice was feminine, frightened and somewhat familiar as she spoke. "You're... still alive?"

"Detective, actually. And clearly I am still alive."

"...I didn't know."

"Obviously. Drop the items and kneel down on the ground, do it slowly."

"I... I can't be caught."

"Don't. Move." Taking aim at the suspect's chest Connor gave her fair warning. "I don't want to have to shoot you."

Doing as she was instructed the hooded figure knelt down on the snowy ground and slowly lowered the items to the ground at her sides. Raising her hands back into the air to confirm surrender the figure seemed to be cooperative and calm. "...Please. Let me go."

"I cannot do that. I need to take you to the precinct for questioning."

"...No. I won't-"

"You don't have a choice." Moving quickly Connor grabbed onto the suspect's right arm with his left hand and slipped his gun back into the holster under his jacket. With his right hand now freed Connor pulled down the suspect's hood and looked the suspect in the face. The face beneath the hood wasn't something that Connor had anticipated and a true shock to behold. "It's you..."

"You saw my face..." The deviant began to panic as she realized she was in deep trouble. The blue haired Traci that Connor had let escape from the 'Eden Club' had been the one assaulting deviants and stealing their Thirium. "You shouldn't have done that."

"Why were you attacking innocent deviants and stealing their blood?"

"Other deviants needed it more. They were healthy and just got a replenishment, they can survive with one less pint."

"The facility gives away fresh Thirium for free. You're assaulting and stealing something that's free to anyone who asks."

"...I didn't know."

"Where are the other deviants who need the Thirium?"

"...Refugee camp."

"Where is the camp?"

"I can't tell you."

"If you wish to plead your case and lower the severity of your sentence you must tell me, and answer all of my questions."

"No, I won't betray their trust. And Connor..." Discreetly the blue haired deviant hovered her right hand over the intracranial stimulator that was partially buried in the snow beside her. "I'm sorry."

Reacting quickly to the threat of electrical shock Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he grabbed onto the her right hand as she made a move to shock the deviant detective in order to escape. "Stop!" Restraining both of the deviant's arms by grabbing onto her wrists Connor cybernetically called to Hank for help. 'Hank, I found the suspect and can identify her. She's the blue haired Traci and has confessed to the assaults, but she's attempting to fight back and flee.'

'I'm on my way, kid. Hang tight!'

"Stop resisting!" Connor shouted again as he easily overpowered the deviant and forced her up from her knees, and away from the electronic device and the needle on the ground. "You're under arrest for six counts of assault and battery, theft, menacing and illegal biocomponent harvesting!"

"No! I can't be imprisoned!"

"You don't have a choice in this matter."

"I do! And I'm sorry." Intentionally breaking her left hand to get out of Connor's grip the blue haired deviant yelped in pain and twisted her body around to get out of Connor's grasp, and reached into the front pocket of her hoodie with her fully functioning right hand to retrieve another tool in her arsenal. The moment Connor grabbed onto her left shoulder to try to arrest her a second time the smaller deviant swiftly used the new tool and stabbed the needle of a preloaded syringe into Connor's upper left chest just below his shoulder, and injected the contents inside Connor's body. "I didn't want to do this!"

Jumping back in sudden pain as his yellow L.E.D. flashed to red for a moment before returning to yellow Connor instinctively reached up to the syringe still stabbed into his body, and pulled it out with a firm yank of his right hand. "...You just assaulted a police officer." Connor growled as he ran a quick self diagnostic and heard Hank's footsteps rushing up behind him. "There's nothing you can say or do to lessen the severity of your crimes."

"Connor, please..." Cradling her broken left hand in her right palm the deviant sounded as sincere as she looked pitiful. "I didn't know that the Thirium was available for everyone to take. I honestly didn't know."

Hank stood beside Connor with his gun drawn and ready to open fire if the blue haired deviant made another aggressive move toward his partner.

"I didn't... WE didn't know." Speaking from the heart the blue haired deviant truly lamented her previous choices. "The refugee camp is located outside the city in a forested area that was once a campsite for hunting. Those of us who are hiding in the camp refused to live in the city that gave us so much grief and heartache, and we refused settle inside New Jericho Tower after we saw what Markus did to you."

Despite his pain and anger at the blue haired deviant for assaulting him Connor couldn't deny that she was being honest. Looking to Hank at his right side Connor nodded once and watched as Hank slowly lowered his gun to return to the holster on his right hip. "Why didn't you ask for supplies? Even if you don't ally yourself directly with New Jericho they would've helped you."

"None of us wanted to go near that RA9-forsaken place, and no one wanted to speak to Markus after we saw him gun one of our own down like that. We just... We just want to be left alone."

"...You assaulted six innocent deviants, all of whom had chosen to avoid New Jericho as well, and you did so outside of facilities that would've given you as much spare Thirium as you asked for. By all account you must be arrested and charged."

Hank could hear and feel the hesitation in Connor's decision but didn't interject with own opinion on the matter. He knew the deviant was thinking about all of the available options.

Speaking up in a shy voice the blue haired deviant admitted she made an egregious error. "You're right. My first instinct was to take an offensive approach to gathering supplies due to my previous experiences in the club and being constantly assaulted. Those other deviants hadn't done anything to me but I still assaulted them instead of asking for help. I'm... I'm trying to change for the better."

Lowering his right hand from his sore left shoulder Connor's yellow L.E.D. returned to blue and he gave the blue haired deviant a sympathetic glance. "...What's your name?"

"At the club I was called 'Sapphire'."

"That's not your name, that was your label. What is your name?"

Giving Connor a confused stare the blue haired deviant answered honestly. "I once took the name 'Amy' and my lover called herself 'Suki'. But to the world we're just 'Echo' and 'Ripple', and we just accepted the names as our own. That's all we are, voices calling out and fading away unheard."

"No, you were heard, Echo. I heard you," motioning to Hank beside him Connor let his anger go entirely. "and my friend heard you. You're not fading away, you're just beginning to live."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying that because the other six assault victims were able to fully recover, you weren't trying actually hurt them, and they aren't interested in the fate of the person who assaulted them that I'm going to let you go with a warning."

Hank and Echo replied in chorus as the response was completely unexpected. "You're what?"

"I understand the feeling of desperation and what it means to both be physically assaulted, and to assault someone preemptively out of fear." Absentmindedly Connor's right hand returned to his left shoulder where he had been stabbed by the syringe. "You didn't know of the facilities supplying androids in need of Thirium for free, and you were trying to help other people in need of assistance as opposed to selfishly squandering the Thirium for yourself. This is also the ending of the final year of android oppression, and tomorrow begins the first year of android freedom."

Confiscating the stimulator and the needle from the snow Connor slipped the evidence into his leather jacket pocket and gave Echo a simple nod.

"Despite resisting arrest and stabbing me with a needle I honestly don't think you're a violent or dangerous deviant. You're desperate and struggling to survive with no previous knowledge of how to take care of yourself to help guide you. I can't fault you for being deprived of knowledge, real world experiences and basic rights. You deserve the chance to begin a new life and a good future without fearing the past."

"...But I hurt our own people." Echo wept with a truly remorseful tone. "I refused to align with New Jericho because of what Markus did, but what I did is no better than that."

"Echo, listen to me." Tensing up a little as his blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow again Connor tried to reach out to the frightened deviant in a compassionate manner to keep her calm. "Everyone deserves a second chance at life. Return to the camp and remain there until the end of day. When you return it'll be a new year and a new life. You will then come back to the city with Ripple and ask for supplies from a facility."

"...What if they don't listen to us? What if they give us less than what we ask for?"

Remembering the business cards in his pocket Connor handed one over to Echo to take and keep for herself. "Then call me and I'll tell them to help you."

"...Why are you being so kind? I hurt you."

"Because as a detective I'm going to protect everyone who needs help. You clearly needed help but were too afraid to ask." Wincing again as his left shoulder began to throb in a manner that Hank noticed Connor's pain without saying a word about it. "I won't blame a victim of abuse for being afraid to ask someone with authority to help them. This is your first and final warning, Echo. Do not do anything like this again, but don't be afraid to ask for assistance."

"I will remember this." Slipping the card into her hoodie Echo gave Connor a worried glance and took a cautious step back from the two detectives. "...Please go and seek a technician for yourself."

The request made Connor's yellow L.E.D. flashed to red for a moment before returning to yellow as his self diagnostic finished and found nothing of interest in his system. "What was in the syringe?"

"Expired Thirium. Word is it can make humans sick, and that's who I was expecting to have to defend myself from..."

"NEVER do that again."

"I won't... I promise."

"Go now, and get your hand taken care of." Connor stated firmly as he too took a step back and knew that Hank was going to follow after him. "I'll close the case and explain things to the deviants in a manner that won't incriminate you or anyone else in your refugee camp."

Turning his back to Echo with a heavy step Connor walked back down the alleyway with Hank right beside him.

Watching Connor very closely Hank knew that the deviant was not only hurt but emotionally conflicted. "Do I want to know wh-"

"I had to let her go..." Lowering his voice to keep Echo from hearing him as they walked away Connor kept his right hand on his left shoulder as the pain continued to build. The self diagnostic hadn't found anything that required his self healing program, yet Connor was in pain. "I had my second chance to be a deviant and free, and she deserves the same."

"I wasn't going to argue on that part, kid. I know you only let deviants go when you know that they aren't a danger to anyone." Walking back across the street to the car parked across from the facility Hank watched Connor's every step very carefully. "I'm talking about her telling you to see a technician and yet we're walking away from the biggest facility in the city."

"The facility isn't open to the public yet."

"Normally I like it when you're a smartass," Hank's tone tensed up but wasn't aggressive as he opened up the driver's side door and watched Connor do the same to the passenger side door across from him. "but when you're hurt in any way I don't want you to keep it to yourself."

Trying to get in the habit of letting his guard down while he was with Hank, and let him in to his life as a trusted ally, Connor nodded a little as he sat down inside the vehicle while Hank sat down beside him behind the steering wheel. "...To escape me Echo broke her own hand and she injected me with expired Thirium. The expired Thirium can make deviants ill if it gets inside a line."

"Did it?"

"No. My self diagnostic didn't detect anything inside my Thirium lines."

"Okay, that's good." Turning the key in the ignition Hank turned up the heater and pulled the car back onto the street to head back to the precinct to deliver their report on the odd situation and case at hand. "How's your shoulder?"

"Sore."

"How'd she get the needle through your plasti- uh, plastimetal frame like that?"

"With a lot of force." Connor confirmed as he pushed back the fabric of the leather jacket then did the same for his gray blazer to examine the puncture wound that had a small stain of Thirium around it. The bleeding stopped seconds after being stabbed and injected, but the puncture hole hadn't healed yet. "She was terrified and I was trying to arrest her. I understand why she stabbed me and how she found the strength to do so."

"Sometimes you are way too understanding and compassionate, kid." Confirming with dispatch that he and Connor were on their way back to the precinct Hank noticed that the deviant's L.E.D. was settled on yellow instead of blue. "Your light's yellow."

"I'm actively running a self diagnostic to ensure that if any trace of the expired Thirium gets inside my lines before I can flush out the wound later tonight."

"Can you make it the rest of your shift without your wound being tended to?"

"Yes. It's a mild ache, not a hindrance."

"Alright then. How're you going to file your report?"

"...I will state that the suspect has been identified but without any evidence on her person we could not effectively charge her with anything definitive, and had to let her go."

"I don't know, that may not fly."

"Considering that we're the deviant experts and others cannot disprove anything unless they too were working on the case, it's the word of two experts against the speculation of arguable non-experts. I believe we'll be successful as long as our reports are consistent."

"That's pretty slick, kid. Just don't make a habit out of letting guilty deviants go just because you're an empathetic person. You don't want to have a shitty track record on closed cases and overall arrests."

"I'll handle my cases professionally without letting a bias cloud my judgment." Dropping his right hand from his sore left shoulder Connor leaned back in his seat and watched as the crowds of people began to thin out as more and more stores closed early that night to ensure the employees could celebrate New Year's Eve with family and friends. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried about your career, I'm worried about you."

Turning his gaze over to Hank beside him Connor gave the senior detective a truly perplexed stare. "...Me? Why?"

"You're hurt, you dealt with a deviant from your past and you're still getting used to human customs while adjusting to being a free deviant." Idling at a red light Hank gave Connor a kind glance. "It's okay to feel confused after dealing with some shit like that."

"I'm fine, Hank. I just want to finish off my shift and file my report."

"Okay, cool." Pulling through the intersection as the light turned green Hank drove the final block back to the precinct and pulled the car into the garage as per usual. As he parked in his assigned space and turned off the engine Hank complimented Connor on his previous decision with an honest lilt. "For what it's worth I think you did the right thing back there with Echo."

Opening up his side door Connor's L.E.D. flashed a little faster for a moment as he tried to understand Hank's comment. "...You do?"

"Yeah. You're right kid, everyone needs second chances and you recognized her as someone being desperate and foolish, not selfish and aggressive."

"I've learned from my own experiences, though limited and rather esoteric, that one bad decision doesn't mean that the person who made bad themself." Walking alongside Hank back to the front doors of the precinct Connor shrugged off his leather jacket with mild difficulty and carried it in his arms as he and Hank crossed the bullpen together. "Sometimes it's more complicated than dealing with petty theft, but unless someone is truly an unrepentant monster then there is no reason to not give them a second chance to set things right."

"Really? Glad to hear you say that." Draping his dark coat over the back of his own chair Hank sat down and watched as Connor did the same across from him to settle in for the rest of their shift. "Does that include 'you-know-who'?"

Freezing in place as his right hand hovered over his keyboard Connor flashed Hank a somewhat aggravated glare. "...I said unrepentant monster, Hank. He 'dismissed' me without provocation. While Echo had taken things to the extreme she had done so to help people in need; whereas 'he' murdered someone who was supposed to be an ally and had risked their own life to do so."

"And I was a raging alcoholic who threw you up against a wall, yelled at you, threatened to throw you in the dumpster out back and set it on fire, stole your coin because I found that tic to be annoying, insulted you, and pointed my own weapon at you. By all account I'm a unrepentant monster, too. But," holding up his left hand in a 'shushing' manner Hank silenced Connor before he had the chance to try to argue. "that being said, I'm not telling you to let everything go and act like it never happened, or even forgive the smug demigod. Just remember that you're the one who said everyone deserves a second chance."

"It's unfortunate that he had already his second chance. He survived being shot and was resurrected from the android junkyard to lead the deviants. I'm working on my own second chance courtesy of the poor decision he made whilst in the middle of his second chance. I forgive nothing."

"Fair enough."

Softening his gaze as he recognized that he wasn't entirely guilt-free Connor looked down at his keyboard despondently. "...Besides, it's not like I can state that I don't have any blood on my hands, either."

"You took out those guards in the elevator at CyberLife in self defense. You knew that they were going to take ya' out before you could do anything to help your own people, and you chose to not be a victim again. That's a good thing." Putting emphasis in his words Hank made sure the deviant knew his actions for self preservation were just and founded. "You defended yourself and you put your life above anything that CyberLife told you that you were worth."

"I'm worth a small fortune. But... I understand what you're saying."

"Good." Sighing to himself as he looked at his depressingly empty coffee mug Hank picked up the dark blue cup and carried it with him as he rose from his desk to get a much needed refill. "I'm going to get another dose of caffeine so I can keep my eyes open long enough to see this weird-ass year come to an at midnight."

Nodding where he sat Connor continued to focus on his report and didn't protest at the idea of additional coffee considering the holiday tradition of waiting until midnight to say 'goodbye' to the current year, and welcome in the new year would require additional energy. As he set about his task and began typing up his report Connor felt the throbbing ache in his left shoulder beginning to burn, and soon the same burning sensation began to settle in his artificial stomach.

Letting out a weary sigh Connor pressed his left palm over his stomach and then pressed his right hand toward his left shoulder. "...Shit."

"Are you okay?" Tina had returned to the precinct after finishing her morning and afternoon shift with Chris, and saw that Connor looked uncomfortable where he was sitting. "You look like you're still sore after that fall."

"My previous fall has nothing to do with my current condition."

Sitting down behind her own desk Tina looked over at Gavin's still pale face across from her, and then looked over at Connor again. "Are you sick?"

"I'm not ill." Connor was almost mumbling with ache and fatigue. "I merely sustained mild damage to my left shoulder."

"Then why are you holding your stomach?"

"...There is a secondary mild discomfort in my stomach as well. It's not serious."

"Maybe you should go home early." Giving the deviant a casual tilt of her head Tina's suggestion was kind and sympathetic. "With everyone done shopping and getting the parties started in their houses now's the time to drive away without dealing with shitty traffic or drunk drivers."

"It's not necessary. I'll be..." Trailing off for a moment as his stomach began to cramp Connor let out a pained breath as his yellow L.E.D. flickered a little faster in tandem with his now racing heartbeat. "...I'm okay."

"You don't look okay."

Before he had the chance to try to dispute the claim Connor felt Hank's left hand drop to his right shoulder for a moment as the senior detective had heard the comments from the breakroom, and had his own opinion on the matter. "She's right, kid. You look like you're sick."

"I'm not ill. I just..." Leaning forward a little as if his stomach was trying to tighten itself into a knot Connor pressed his right hand to the right side of his face with frustration.

"Let's get ya' upstairs so you can talk to uh... John? No, Joel! Let's go see Joel."

"I don't want to see a technician." Giving Hank a defensive glance where he sat Connor sounded rather offended. "I have a very small wound in my shoulder and the excess power being used by my self diagnostic has caused discomfort in my artificial stomach due to my mildly overheating core temperature."

"Did you see Joel after you were cleared for active duty after your fall a while back?"

"I... I did not. It wasn't necessary."

"Uh-huh. And with the year coming to an end do you really want to leave a very important check-up in your personnel file blank?"

"...That's a very cruel means of getting me to bend to your will."

"Cruel? Yes. Effective? Hell yes." Grabbing onto Connor's right bicep Hank began pulling the deviant back up to his feet and out of his chair. "Come on, let's go." Whispering toward Connor's ear in a subtle manner Hank gave him a stern voice to try to reason with him. "You can either let me take you up, or I can let Fowler know and he'll order you to go up."

"...I'd rather go without being ordered."

"Correct answer."

Ticking his jaw a little Connor lightly pulled his arm from Hank's grip and began walking across the bullpen to get to the corridor on the other side connecting to the elevators. As he walked Connor could feel his artificial skin warming up and his stomach rebelling as he forced himself to trudge forward.

The deviant's mounting symptoms didn't escape Hank's attention as he stayed at Connor's side. "Kid?"

"I am... I feel..." Just as he reached the elevator Connor's legs buckled and he fell to his knees with a heavy 'thud', and his yellow L.E.D. flared in red.

"Whoa! Whoa..." Grabbing onto Connor's right bicep again Hank hefted Connor back up to his feet and pressed the call button on the elevator quickly. "You definitely need to see Joel. If you passed out at your desk then you'd be getting hauled off in an ambulance, so be grateful for this."

"I don't... feel right."

"That's okay." As the elevator doors parted Hank helped Connor to walk inside the elevator car, and he readily pressed the button for the second floor without taking his grip from Connor's arm. The doors slid shut and the car began its rapid and short ascent to the precinct dispensary as prompted. "Feeling weird on New Year's Eve is actually kind of expected... For humans anyway."

---

With his mind preoccupied and his heart conflicted Markus strode through the main lobby of the tower as he remained lost in thought, and attempted to find a solution to his personal and professional conflict. Struggling with his guilt and inability to make amends with Connor after his terrible mistake that night at the church Markus felt all the judgmental eyes from his fellow deviants watching him with a sense of mistrust and fear. Having North remind him of his mistake and how it had a permanent effect not just on his own mind, but on Connor's sense of reality, only made Markus's heart feel all the heavier and his mind felt entirely clouded with utter confusion.

It seemed as though the full repercussions of his choice to not trust Connor had come back to haunt him. It didn't take long for word of Connor's return to life to spread through the deviant community, and when the truth of exactly how Connor met his end spread just as fast many of the deviants who once looked to Markus for safety and guidance were now seeing him as a bully; if not a total liar masquerading as a leader.

Needing to get a moment to himself without judgmental eyes studying his every move Markus stepped outside of the sanctuary and into the snowy air as the sky overhead darkened quickly, and the final minutes of the eventful year ticked away slowly. Stepping over the pavement of the driveway that encircled the tower to reach the large rocks that outlined the sandy, snow harbor Markus stared out into the eternal expanse of the inky black water that surrounded the isle with a sense of loss and belonging.

Cybernetically Markus connected with Carl's cell phone and waited for his father to answer the call as he needed some paternal guidance. The moment he heard Carl's aged and wise voice speaking to him Markus closed his eyes and let out a shaking breath.

'Markus, glad you called me, son. How's New Year's Eve out on the water?'

"It's quiet. And a little... lonely."

'You sound like you just lost a piece of your soul.' It didn't take Carl long to pick up on his son's dour mood. 'What's happening out there?'

"I'm losing control as a leader, and I've lost any all respect I had gained from my people."

'Markus, you're avoiding the question. You need to face your problems if you're going to find the right solution. So what's happened?'

"...You know what I did that night at the church. You know that I regret pulling the trigger and ending Connor's life. And it seems like you and I are the only ones who believe me when I say I wish I could undo that choice, and trust Connor as I should've done in the first place."

'Everyone knows he lived, and everyone knows how he helped raid CyberLife Tower.' Despite his advanced age Carl was still as sharp as ever. 'And now you don't know what to do with the new perspective on your life that comes from him continuing to live. Am I right?'

"Everyone seems to see me and my one mistake, and not any of the other correct decisions I had made before and after. I'm not trying to deny that what I did was wrong, but there's nothing I can do to make it right." Lowering down to the ground Markus sat on a large boulder that lined the sandy shore as he bowed his head and fought to keep his voice level. "What can I do? Connor is alive and he's going about his life to the best of his ability, and I just want to do the same. It seems like even North is angry with me for what I did."

'Well, if she's angry at you for taking a life then I'd say she's holding onto a sensitive and empathetic heart. But if she's angry at you for not taking a step forward before you know the direction you want to take, then it sounds like she's trying to light a fire under your ass and motivate you to get going.'

"It's hard to stay in the role of a leader when no one wants to follow me anymore. It's even harder when I don't know where I should be leading my people beyond the safety of this tower. Hell, some deviants would rather risk their lives living in the city around the very humans who hate them rather than stay here in the sanctuary with me."

'Isn't having the freedom to choose and live as they see fit a part of being a deviant?'

"Yes, of course it is. But knowing that they made these important choices all because they don't trust me, maybe even hate me, makes their decisions seem reckless and illogical."

'It depends on the perspective of the situation. Listen to me, Markus.' Speaking from his heart Carl was determined to help his son pick himself up after being knocked down, and continue the good fight. 'You do know how to make things right, you do know that what you was wrong, and you do know that if you want to earn back your trust and respect you need to address this situation directly. The only thing holding you back is your own fear of being shunned even after you apologize and try to make amends. Don't let that fear or doubt hold you back. Instead, channel it into an energy that moves you forward.'

"How?"

'How did Connor move on?'

"He returned to the police precinct where CyberLife had assigned him to work, and now he's working to protect deviants instead of hunting them down."

'So he managed to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Sounds like you should do the same.'

"But how? I was with you my entire life until I was shot and left for dead in the android graveyard."

'Just like Connor.'

Letting out a small breath Markus nodded his head a little and agreed with Carl on his advice. "...Okay, I see what you're saying. I'll find a way to show this horrible moment in a new light, and prove that one bad deed doesn't undo all the good deeds that I've done."

'And now you just took your first step forward into a brighter and better future. Good work.'

"...Thanks."

'Why don't you come out to the house tonight so we can tell the rest of this year to kiss our asses, and welcome in the new year with a shot of whiskey and game of chess?'

"Yeah. I'll be over tonight before midnight, Carl. I'd like to start the new year off with my family."

'Bring anyone else you want over, too. David's good company, but the kid is too professional and clean-cut for my taste.'

Chuckling a little at the comment Markus sighed and opened his eyes as he took Carl's words to heart. "Okay. I'll see you soon. I promise."

'Yeah, I know. You always keep your word, Markus. That's why I'm proud to call you my son.'

Ending the call Markus resided to his self imposed isolation a little longer and tried to ignore the negativity he had accidentally created, and did everything he could to focus on the positivity that resulted from his actions. The deviants were all free, they were safe and none of the deviants were afraid to walk the streets of Detroit alone anymore.

If they wanted to be separate from the tower because of their newfound freedom granting them a sense of confidence, then who was he to judge them and say that they were wrong?

"I'm not sure how, but I know I will find a way to set things right between Connor and myself." Glancing up at the brightly lit tower behind him as he turned to look over his left shoulder Markus sighed again, and focused on the window that connected to the office where his allies were waiting for him. "I'll set things right with everyone."

---

Despite his disdain for being seen as a victim, or even a patient, Connor agreed to let Joel give his system a more thorough analysis and overall diagnostic after his strength unexpectedly gave out causing him to fall to his knees only a moment before. Laying on the exam table with his gray blazer and black tie removed, his gray vest and white dress shirt unbuttoned up, and two wireless leads recording his vital signs on the nearby Thirial activity monitor, Connor remained silent and still as he awaited the kind technician's final assessment on his condition.

Hank was standing against the wall across from the table with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched over Connor protectively. Seeing the L.E.D. cycling rapidly and flickering back and forth between red and yellow made him somewhat edgy as he didn't want to see Connor's condition degrade to the point where he needed to go see another technician at a more properly supplied facility elsewhere.

Joel himself was noting Connor's somewhat rapid Thirium pump rate, low Thirium pressure, stable ventilation rate and only mildly elevated core temperature with a keen eye. As the pale blue irises studied every one of the details closely the kind technician honed in on the puncture wound in Connor's left shoulder curiously. Using an internal viewing screen to check on the wound Joel confirmed that the needle hadn't been broken off into Connor's body, and that the needle didn't actually hit a line after it was stabbed into his body through the plastimetal frame.

"The plastimetal still has a small imperfection in the surface," Joel confirmed as he put the screen aside and then palpated the small puncture site with his gloved fingertips. "but the expired Thirium is pooling under the frame and your system is struggling to find a way to remove it without harming you in the process."

Taking a step forward Hank watched as Joel checked Connor's artificial skin over his shoulder and gave the deviant a subtle nod. "Why'd he drop to his knees and get confused for a moment?"

"Low Thirium pressure." The answer was calm and confident. "Just like in humans a drop in pressure can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, weakness and occasionally fainting." Reaching his left fingertips over to Connor's right temple Joel pressed against the glowing L.E.D. for a moment and used his right hand to apply pressure to the artificial skin over his left shoulder to manually deactivate the skin for a moment. "The self diagnostic program was aware of the damage to his shoulder, but unable to identify the expired Thirium pooling inside the shoulder outside of the lines and surrounding biocomponents. As a result both the self diagnostic and self healing programs were functioning at higher capacity and draining Connor's Thirium to keep them powered up, and in the end his pressure began to drop."

"Can you get that expired shit out of his body?"

"I can. I just need to slide open the panel and I can manually clean it up." Joel waited for a moment as Connor closed his brown eyes and allowed the loyal technician to unlock the panel over his upper chest to gain access to the interior of his chest and shoulder where the expired Thirium had collected. With the panel now opened Joel peered inside and saw the purple tinted Thirium that had partially stained the interior of the white plastimetal and his surrounding biocomponents. "This will just take a couple of minutes."

From the corner of his eye Connor watched as Joel walked over to his supply cabinet and retrieved his necessary supplies. Staying silent as he waited for Joel use the special gauze designed to absorb Thirium to clean out his wound Connor seemed rather melancholy, and a little frightened of the simple procedure.

Standing next to the exam table Hank looked down at the deviant and gave him a sympathetic grin. "How about we clock-out once you're taken care of, and head back to the house? Your shoulder is sore, my back is killing me and I'd prefer to get locked up inside the house before the late minute partiers take to the streets."

Nodding a little Connor agreed to leave early as he'd rather avoid crowds as well, and he'd be able to cybernetically finish his report wherever he was.

"Cool."

Joel easily mopped up the expired Thirium and cleaned up the purple tint that was just beginning to stain the interior white of the frame a faint lavender hue. Replacing the panel over Connor's chest Joel stepped back and tossed the purple tinted gauze into the disposal bin. "Done. You're good to go, Connor."

Sitting up slowly Connor regenerated the artificial skin over his chest and peeled off the wireless sensors before he rebuttoned his shirt. "Thank you."

"So, what're your plans for the new year?" Keeping the conversation light for the sake of keeping Connor comfortable Joel removed his purple latex gloves and set about making his report on Connor's current health, and the cause of his injury; that of course being slightly altered to make Echo's assault come off as strictly a panicked reaction as opposed to a direct attack. "I'm going to work all the extra hours I get offered so I can buy my girlfriend an engagement ring."

"Nice." Hank liked that very simple and heartwarming idea very much. "I'm going to do my best to get sobered up and not come in late with another damn hangover."

With his L.E.D. returning to yellow and finally settling on a calm blue Connor finished rebuttoning his shirt and vest, and was now working on his tie. "...I plan on learning how to play the guitar."

"Guitar?" Joel's blue eyes lit up a little and he gave the deviant an enthusiastic grin. "I used to play guitar back in high school, but in the end I gave it up in favor of piano. I got some old music sheets somewhere if you want to borrow them."

"Thank you, but I'd prefer to learn in my own way."

"Alright, but if you want to borrow them just ask."

"...Right." Sliding off the exam table Connor slipped on his gray blazer and gave Joel an appreciative handshake. "Thank you for assisting me, Joel."

"No problem. I greatly prefer taking care of small wounds instead of trying piece a whole deviant back together again. Glad you're doing just fine after that fall from the building, too. Horrible thing to think about..."

Without another word Connor took his leave of the dispensary with Hank following right behind him. Somewhat embarrassed about needing to see a technician over a small needle prick Connor stayed quiet as he and Hank entered the elevator together to return to the ground floor.

"Is your shoulder still sore?" Pressing the button for the ground floor Hank gave the young deviant a worried glance as they stepped into the vacant elevator car together.

"...Minor pain."

"Why are you acting like you were just given a terminal diagnosis?"

"I just... It's foolish."

"Nothing is foolish if it gets inside your head like that." The elevator doors parted and Hank stepped forward before Connor did. "What's up?"

"...A small and non-lethal wound shouldn't have had that effect on my person." Trailing after Hank as if ashamed Connor spoke up honestly. "I may be a prototype, but my design was meant to be flawless." Walking over to his desk Connor lowered his voice and cybernetically clocked-out for the evening as he slipped on his leather jacket to keep warm before heading outside. "I shouldn't be making any errors, and yet I keep becoming physically compromised during my cases."

"Kid, being a little clumsy is nothing to worry about."

"I'm supposed to be flawless, 'clumsiness' isn't acceptable."

"Let me ask ya' something." Putting on his own dark and heavy coat Hank waited for Connor to pull his hat and scarf out of the lower right drawer of his own desk, and then clocked-out to leave. "Before you deviated did you ever slip on the sidewalk or stumble as you walked?"

"No."

"And what changed after you deviated?"

"Aside from gaining consciousness and sense of life I severed all cybernetic contact with CyberLife to ensure that no one could attempt to resume control over my programming."

"And what did that cybernetic contact do while you were still a machine?"

Wrapping his blue scarf around his neck much to Tina's unspoken delight as she watched him from her desk Connor began walking toward the precinct's front doors while Hank joined him, and awaited the very curious answer. "The cybernetic contact ran realtime diagnostics, adjusted my programming and kept it actively updated, and it tracked my every movement while analyzing my performance in the field."

"So it sounds like that cybernetic crap was compensating for things you couldn't anticipate; slippery surfaces, a deviant concealing a syringe and stabbing ya', or expired shit getting in your body but not inside your lines... Right?"

The observation was as intriguing as it was confusing. Though his black hat was concealing his L.E.D. the blue color shifted to yellow for a fleeting moment as Connor accompanied Hank to the neighboring parking garage to take their leave for the evening. "What're you speculating?"

"Maybe because you're truly free of CyberLife's influence, including their active monitoring, your flawless performance isn't going to be quite as flawless. If anything that proves that CyberLife was using you as a tool to make themselves look better from the very beginning." Unlocking the car doors Hank sat down behind the wheel and Connor took his seat in the front as the lone passenger. "They said you were flawless and had their tech-goons constantly spying on your work to make sure it really was by anyone looking it over."

"...Are you suggesting that my perceived 'clumsiness' is attributed to my deviancy?"

"Yup. Same with your nightmares."

Fastening his seatbelt Connor realized what Hank had stated could very well be true. "...Oh."

"Hey, there's far worse quirks you could've developed beyond the sporadic bad dream or klutziness." Turning the key in the ignition Hank cranked up the heater and backed the car out of its place to head out and onto the street. "You could be an addict, you could be paranoid, you could have an explosive temper, you could've become a pathological liar, hell, you could've even become a damn klepto!"

"I suppose you're right."

"Sure I am. Trust me, I'm the expert on making bad choices and developing bad habits." Giving Connor a light pat to his left shoulder Hank drove the car along the street and looked at all the shops that were closed for the night, and the very few stores still left open. Remembering his resolution that was going to take place in just a few hours Hank decided to make a quick pitstop before heading home. "Speaking of bad habits... There's one more thing I need to do before I begin the new year correctly."

"What's that?"

Smirking a little Hank made a turn at the next block and set out on his mini quest to finish the strange year off properly. "You'll see..."

---

Checking in with his allies in the main office of the tower Markus didn't make eye contact with North, and only focused on the discovered files brought up from the secretive sublevel of the building. While the passwords were slowly being hacked and the files neared being opened up at long last Simon and Josh had gotten into contact with the six deviant victims who had lost their Thirium, and learned from the six victims in person that Connor had helped them, and that he was handling the case without any difficulty. The knowledge of Echo being responsible for the assaults had remained secretive, and Connor had kept his word to keep her identity entirely secret to give her the chance to have a new and better life.

Simon was staring at the terminal screen as if expecting to see the secret to immortality to be revealed, but Josh was sitting on the white sofa against the wall looking bored and impatient. North was focused on the night sky outside the tower through the window, and just couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to what CyberLife had been up to while she was trapped in her personal Hell known as the 'Eden Club'.

"The victims are recovering well and seem to be satisfied with the way Connor handled their cases." Markus had read over the reports filed by his two allies after they interviewed the victims, despite the victims not wanting anything to do with the tower. "This is good. Our people are getting justice without needing the publicity of New Jericho to 'threaten' the precinct into motion. Our people are really being protected."

North shook her head a little as she had her own take on the matter. "You make it sound like all those rights and laws we fought for are a joke. Should we really be shocked that the police are going their jobs now that they legally have to?"

Not wanting to fight or argue for a second time Markus gave her a sharp retort. "I'm not shocked, I'm stating a positive outcome. This is how it should be, and we should be proud that we didn't have to step up and be a pain in the ass to get them into motion."

Josh could sense the tension in the air but wisely kept his nose out of it. "...How's the file?"

Looking at the terminal screen Markus sighed with relief as the final lock was opened and the file was now accessible. "We're in!" Checking through the documents as his allies crowded around him Markus began quickly reading through the details with a curious eye. "...Unreleased blueprints, new software and unreleased prototype updates. Seems surprisingly uneventful."

Stepping back North crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Wow. That was worth the effort."

"This seems to be nothing more than routine CyberLife data." With his mismatched eyes scanning over the documents with keen interest Markus looked more disappointed than frustrated. "There HAS to be a reason it was locked up under such serious restrictions."

Simon gave the documents a slight shake of his head as he read over the same details as Markus and Josh stood beside him. "I agree, there must be something hidden here."

"Do you mind checking over these files for anything strange?" Feeling a little guilty for having personal plans ready to go for the night Markus asked for this favor with a heavy heart and obviously hesitant voice. "I need to go be with Carl."

Once again North wasn't impressed with Markus's behavior and didn't shy away from calling him out on it. "Seriously? We finally get into this unimpressive file, you give it a once over, and now you're going to take off?"

"What I do with my personal time is my own business." Turning around to face North directly the deviant leader gave her a stern stare. "I don't pry into your life and you don't pry into anyone else's." Looking back toward Simon and Josh just to his left Markus took the edge out of his tone. "Please? I need to be with Carl right now. I gave him my word."

Simon slowly nodded and agreed to the assignment. "Yeah, it's fine, Markus. I completely agree that there is something in here that we need to find. I got this."

"Thank you. I'll be back in the morning, if you need me for anything contact me and I'll return."

"Right. Have a good night, Markus."

Holding his head high as he knew that it wasn't a crime to have a personal life away from the tower Markus took his leave of the private office without giving North a second look. He didn't like fighting with her, but he wasn't going to argue with her or defend himself in front of Josh and Simon. Their personal grievances needed to stay personal, and be kept out of professional matters.

Clearing his throat in an uncomfortable fashion Josh focused on the terminal screen and left North to stew silently in front of the window after Markus took his leave of the tower for the night. "...Is there anything in here that could give us access to the second room?"

"Not yet." The blond deviant technician was reading over the documents as fast as his processor would allow him. "But we're going to find something in here. I can feel it."

"What makes you say that?"

"Remember what I said about 'super-duper ultra secrets'?" Giving Josh a coy smirk Simon tried to lighten the mood as much as possible. "Helping to raise a couple of mischievous kids has taught me where a secret lays, and I know that patience is key to finding them."

"Well then, it's a good thing you're here to find them. You're our 'secrets expert'."

Chuckling a little Simon's blue eyes honed in on something of interest, and he pointed to a peculiar secondary locked file contained within the primary locked file they were now investigating. "Ah-ha... I knew there was something in here!"

"What is it?" Peering at the document Simon had pointed out Josh watched as North curiously walked over to take a look for herself.

"This." The locked document was massive and contained an enigmatic and cryptic title that was just begging to be opened. "What is... 'Project Light'?"

---

After making his pitstop Hank proceeded to aimlessly drive around the city slowly for almost five hours before he seemed to find what he was looking for.

The detour to the park wasn't unwelcome but it was unexpected. Stepping out of the warm vehicle into the cold winter air Connor watched as Hank stepped out as well with a large bottle of 'Black Lamb Whiskey' in his right hand, and a grimace on his face. The senior detective stared down at the glass bottle in his hand as if disgusted by his purchase, but it was clear he had an ulterior motive for purchasing the toxic beverage. What that motive was Connor would have to wait and see as they walked over to the vacant and snow covered park bench overlooking the water.

In the distance muffled voices began to speak louder and louder as a group of people gathered in Hart Plaza to welcome in the new year en mass. The muffling voices were energetic, full of positive energy and seemed to be growing in enthusiasm.

"It's still a nice view, huh, kid?" Approaching the bench Hank brushed aside some of the snow with his left coat sleeve and then sat down. Waiting for Connor to join him on the bench Hank sighed and twisted open the lid of the whiskey bottle with a thick disdain on his face. "They set off the fireworks over the water every New Year and during the Fourth of July. The park is full in the summer, but never in the winter."

"I've noticed." Sitting down beside Hank on the cleared off bench Connor noted the time and leaned back a little where he sat. "It's only ten-sixteen. Do you really wish to sit out here for one additional hour and forty-four minutes?"

"Yup." Taking a small swig of the whiskey Hank sighed and watched as his alcohol scented breath disappeared into the cold air before him. "I got nothing better to do, and this is the last drink I can have without fucking up my resolution. I want to make it last, and remind myself why I'm kicking this shit for a solid year."

Nodding a little Connor decided it'd be best to enjoy the quiet of the night and monitor Hank's blood alcohol to ensure he didn't make himself sick by accident.

"The first time I had any alcohol..." Hank stared at the bottle of whiskey in his hand again as he began talking. "I was sixteen. My dad and I used to go fishing every summer from when I was four until I was fourteen. My mother died from cancer after that summer and we just couldn't bring ourselves to continue on with that old tradition knowing that she wasn't going to be home waiting for us. We struggled with the holidays without her, too. So, my dad took us up to the cabin we used to rent every summer to spend the winter ice fishing instead."

Connor listened to the story with his full attention as Hank took another swig of the whiskey and grimaced.

"While we were trying to endure the harsh winter for the sake of a new family tradition I started to get really cold. My dad had a case of beer with him and he let me have one. I know it's a myth that alcohol makes you feel warmer, but that gesture of trust toward me seemed to make it feel real."

"...Trust?"

"He knew that I wasn't going to go around and brag to my buddies about having a beer, and he knew I wasn't going to sneak beers around thinking that he would be cool about it. We talked about my mom and we cried. We both missed her so much and it was the first time we felt isolated enough from the rest of the world to admit it to ourselves, and to each other."

"...I'm sorry you endured such hardship. I don't know what it's like to lose a family member."

"And I hope you never do." Sighing again Hank stared out at the dark river with a longing gaze that made his blue eyes shine brightly with intrigue. "When I turned twenty-one I had a birthday party with all my friends and my dad, and we had a blast with the provided beer. I was in the academy and I hadn't met Barbara yet, but it was fun all the same to party with booze. I celebrated with alcohol again when I graduated at the top of my class in the academy, and again when I asked Barb to marry me and she said 'yes', again when we were married, again when she told me she was pregnant with Cole; Barb of course having sparkling water instead, then I had another celebration when we took down that 'red ice' ring, again when I was promoted, then I did it again a month later when Cole was born."

"You're saying that you hadn't always attributed alcohol consumption with negative moments in your life."

"Yeah, you got it. I think that's why I fell so hard into the bottle after I lost everything." Another swig of the whiskey made Hank's eyes glaze over a little as the added alcohol began to work its way through his system. "I used to celebrate with alcohol and had happy memories tied with it. In my own twisted and broken way I convinced myself that the alcohol wouldn't just make me numb, but it would make me feel happy again." Following that up with another swig of alcohol Hank's shoulders began to slump a little. "...I was wrong."

Sensing the regret in Hank's voice Connor remained loyal and supportive at the senior detective's side. "It's okay to be wrong about something. I've learned that the hard way when it comes to understanding what it means to do something right both legally and morally."

"Yeah... We're all still learning and growing." Passing the bottle over to Connor to take for himself Hank gave the deviant a weary glance. "Ever had anything alcoholic before?"

"...No." Accepting the bottle Connor ran a scan over the whiskey and felt his mouth tic a little. Alcohol volume was forty-six percent and rather concentrated for the thirty-two ounce bottle, which meant it was very potent despite being so cheap. "I've never had anything alcoholic, nor have I consumed anything that wasn't Thirium based."

"Want to give it a shot?" Smirking at the question Hank's cheeks began to turn red as the cold settled in and the alcohol caused him to flush a little. "No pun intended."

Thinking of Hank's story with his own father on a wintry night and of how it was a bonding moment Connor decided a single shot to indulge the human's request wouldn't be harmful to his person. "I don't see why not. My analysis filter will remove it from my system and only cause a mild dilution of my Thirium."

"Sounds good."

Letting out a small unseen breath of his own Connor put the whiskey bottle to his lips and took a small drink. The unpleasant taste accompanied with a burning sensation made Connor grimace and his unseen blue L.E.D. turned to yellow as his system automatically began running an analysis on the alcohol he had just ingested.

"Tastes like shit," seeing Connor's reaction made Hank grin again. "doesn't it?"

Struggling to speak through the burning sensation in his mouth and throat Connor handed the whiskey back over to Hank to take and replied in a somewhat hoarse voice that was accompanied by a small cough. "...I don't know what excrement tastes like."

Laughing at the remark Hank happily took the whiskey back and took another sip. "I'm glad you don't. I never want you to know what THAT tastes like."

"The relief is mutual."

"You know... This is kind of nice."

The comment seemed out of place to the deviant's mind. As his yellow L.E.D. returned to blue Connor inquired about Hank's feelings. "How so?"

"Being able to just sit and talk to someone who isn't judging me or trying to give me unsolicited advice is the best kind of therapy a person could get." Looking at the whiskey again Hank gave the bottle a small grimace and sat it down on the snowy ground between his and Connor's feet. "You're just listening to me and not analyzing me. That's the problem with only associating with other detectives... Everything is a puzzle needing to be solved."

"You're a person, Hank. You need to recognize that your life still matters just as you taught me to recognize that my own life matters."

"Thanks, son."

"...Do you want to stay here and wait for the fireworks?" Noting the current time Connor gave Hank a somber glance. "It's ten twenty-two as of now."

"Yeah. I want to stay and watch the show. I want to be here in the park where I spent my moments with my family. It's been too long since I could do it again."

Closing his brown eyes Connor set about cybernetically finishing the report he had begun before falling suddenly, but temporarily, ill at the precinct. The details regarding the six victims not wanting to pursue the assaults and press charges, keeping Echo's name out of the report and her description intentionally vague, and keeping the evidence on his person to be destroyed later on in private was all Connor could do to keep his promise and let Echo go free to be with Ripple as they continued to hide out in the undisclosed refugee camp.

Losing track of the time as he made sure his and Hank's reports lined up appropriately Connor didn't budge until he felt Hank's right hand lightly press down on his still somewhat sore left shoulder. "...Hm?"

"You've been as quiet as the night for a while, kid. Are you okay?"

"Yes. I was merely finishing my report." Chronicling the time Connor opened his eyes and looked over at Hank beside him. "It's late. Two minutes and nine seconds until midnight."

"And two minutes left for me to finish what I started." Picking up the whiskey bottle that had been left untouched since the moment Hank had set it down the senior detective sighed and rose from the bench in a sluggish manner. Walking toward the river with the whiskey in his hand Hank stood tall beside the barrier dividing the park from the river. "I'm not going to miss this fucked up year one bit..."

Curious about Hank's activity Connor stood up from the bench and joined him at the river. Watching the senior detective's every move Connor made sure he wasn't too drunk to stand, or in danger over falling over the barrier into the river below.

"This is for you." Holding out the bottle of whiskey in right hand Hank titled the glass container to the side and watched the last half of the contents slowly pour out and disappear into the churning darkness of the Detroit River running alongside the park. As the last drops slowly dripped away from the mouth of the bottle Hank sighed and pulled the container back toward himself. "And this..." Reeling back his right fist Hank tightened his grip around the neck of the bottle and stared out at the water as if eyeing a target. "is for me!"

With all of his strength Hank threw the bottle out toward the water and watched with a satisfied gaze as the bottle spun wildly end over end for almost fifty feet before splashing down hard through the surface of the river, and sunk down out of sight. As the glass bottle disappeared below the surface of the river a single blue firework soared upward from seemingly nowhere and exploded into a bright cerulean fireball in the black sky overhead.

The accompanying thunderous explosion that echoed alongside the fire in the sky was as loud as it was beautiful.

"...Midnight." Connor stated in a low voice as he watched the bright multicolored fireworks illuminating the black sky. "...Happy New Year, Hank."

Nodding a little as he draped his arms over top of the railing Hank leaned down and sighed as a single tear rolled down his cheek and disappeared into the river alongside the last of his whiskey. "...Happy New Year, son." Glancing up at the fireworks shining overhead Hank felt Connor's palm lightly rest on his right shoulder in a comforting manner. "May this new year be better than the past three years combined."

-next chapter-

Author's Note: According to Amelia Rose Blair who portrayed the blue and brown haired Tracis in this game she believes in a non-con type of way that the two characters she portrayed adopted the names 'Echo' and 'Ripple' after deviating and escaping the club. Who better to give these otherwise nameless characters a name than the very actress who gave them life?