We'd just disembarked at the Ferndale station platform when I caught sight of Connor's hand and exclaimed, "What the hell is that?" In his palm, a photo of the graffitied wall in front of us blinked up at me.

"It's a map to Jericho that I obtained from the Stratford deviant."

I placed my hand in his, sealing the secret base between us; it wouldn't be good for passersby to notice he was projecting images, completely uprooting his human disguise.

We took the elevators down to the main street, and I pulled up my hood in the wake of light, wintry gales. The cold stung my throat with every breath I took. Overhead, the sky was like a slate slab of concrete, darkening to charcoal as the evening progressed. It expunged squalling snow drifts from its cracks, plastering Detroit in a dusting of frosty cold. The forecasters had predicted these drifts would grow into more violent, snarling blizzards by the end of the week.

Connor discreetly peered at his free hand like he would at a cell phone he was holding, as though we were lost, and we set off for the next marker.

I hated the way I liked his hand in mine, because a good outcome to the revolution was less likely than Hank giving up his booze. It was all the more reason to put aside my nerves and enjoy this turn of events while remaining diligent to the mission, I told myself. Kinda hard to do, considering how every time Connor glanced back at me, that endearingly, painful-looking attempt at a smile of his would grace his face.

"What do you think of this for our cover story?" I asked, snagging his attention. "We met while on the run from our...owners," I cleared my throat, "to be together - we ran into another deviant who told us about Jericho. Your name is Bryan, and I'm Amelia. Sound good?"

"Won't it be odd if we have aliases for everyone else, and then Markus calls us by our real names?" he inquired.

"Would you rather get shot on sight? You heard what the Stratford deviant said, you have a title. They know who you are." Not to mention the night I'd been attacked by a deviant who'd run away. There was a chance he might be where we were heading.

Connor acquiesced, "I didn't take that into account. Alright, it sounds good. Also, I've come up with several introductory phrases, for when they ask me questions."

"Like what?"

"As they'll be nervous, we must proceed with the utmost caution. For starters, I'll greet them with a friendly, calming opening, such as: 'Good evening, fellow deviants. My name is Bryan-'"

I interrupted him with, "That's not at all convincing, no offense."

"You're certain we can gain entry without proving our story? Kissing would be a very deviant thing to do, especially regarding the story we're using."

"Positive," I answered immediately, staring straight ahead. If he thought of it as just his mission, there was not a chance I'd take him up on his offer - but if he expressed any desire to, I'd gladly participate. Taking advantage of him in any form would be an evil I couldn't redeem myself from.

We rounded a street corner as the snowstorm above petered out into a light flurry. To our right was a small, fenced-in parking lot, in front of a large warehouse. Most of the vehicles were beaten down, crushed, empty. Metal carcasses. The buildings likewise were hunched low to the ground as if they'd been sucked into the concrete, and many of their brick walls were adorned in graffiti.

"Like a ghost town," I commented.

"Ghosts don't exist. It would be impossible-"

I squeezed his hand once to grab his attention and Connor glanced down at our interlocked fingers, perplexed. "It's a description, like how there's no-one here - so it's almost as if the only residents were ghosts."

"You really like using pictures to see the world."

"Not exactly. It's just a common expression."

At that, Connor became silent, as if he were contemplating what I'd said.

Ahead, a gigantic hulking beast lurked in the dark. It was sharp, metal, and angular. It was only thanks to the streetlamps, as sparse and spread out as they were, that I could even make out what I was looking at. A freighter. It was as if the ship had swam through the American flag; the top part of its body was striped with white, followed by a strip of blue, and finally, a slash of red. The stars had somehow found their way onto the night sky canvas.

"That's Jericho."

"Holy crap, they've been hiding in plain sight." We turned around the corner, and I stared up at the beast as we walked alongside its flank. Just how in the world did they get supplies in emergency situations when they were so isolated? Gavin had mentioned the CyberLife warehouse break-in, but I doubted that'd be enough to replenish a growing population of deviants. Was Markus's march due in part to the demand for supplies?

The freighter named Jericho loomed like a beached graveyard. A forgotten vessel of the past. Seeing the hulking, crumbling remains reminded me of the theory that'd floated in the vestiges of my mind at Kamski's, something I'd not told Hank. I'd been uncertain it'd hold any weight. The sight of the monstrous ship may have triggered my need to voice those concerns, or maybe it was because Connor was here.

I hesitated before I spoke. "How much does Amanda actually learn from you?"

"All of my memories are stored in CyberLife's database; it would be safe to say Amanda has access to them all at her leisure."

"Can you prevent her from seeing them?"

Connor paused. "I'm not sure. There have been...times, where I've delayed a consultation with her, but she appeared to be aware of everything at one point or the other."

He'd tried to hide things from her? From CyberLife? I didn't think chewing through that food for thought was an ideal discussion for the moment, so I kept quiet. We'd get to that later, anyway.

"It must be terrifying, knowing you're never alone in your own head," I said.

He didn't answer me. The silence between us quickly became painstaking, so I desperately pulled onto one of the threads I'd been playing with in my mind. "Do you know about Jericho, from the Old Testament?"

Connor's LED ran blue during his search for the information, and a slight furrow marked a spot between his brows. "Yes, it's a story about the fall of the impregnable city of Jericho. Why?"

"The Promised Land was meant to be the Israelites' paradise when they were freed from slavery under the Pharaoh. To secure the Promised Land, they had to conquer the unconquerable city of Jericho. They were instructed to march around the city for six days, shouting, and on the seventh day, Jericho fell."

Connor said plainly, "The deviants cannot make a freighter fall."

"No, because this isn't their Jericho. If it were, there would never have been a march in the streets. They'd have all they needed to continue living, never fearing the outside."

My partner slowly processed what I was saying. "If this isn't their Jericho, then what is?"

"That's what we need to find out," I told him. "It could be CyberLife itself, or it could be Detroit. I think it's the notion that humans and androids can live in harmony with one another. Setting aside our differences and embracing them, by knocking down the world's prejudices. You don't think they're planning on doing that in just seven days, do you?"

It was a very pacifistic approach to the unfolding events, and I knew most people would mock it. On top of that, to attempt winning over the world in a mere seven days seemed impossible.

"I'm not sure Markus is planning anything that large a scale - but then again, he might. You seem hopeful that such an outcome will pass," he murmured.

I met his gaze and found a strange vulnerability in them. "I am. You are all alive; I can't sit by as you're all exterminated."

"CyberLife wouldn't destroy all of their resources."

"Resources?" I scoffed. "Right, that's all you are to them. Deviancy is something to be feared because of what deviants have done: killing human beings, attacking them. Controlling deviancy and not scaring away their customers, I wouldn't put it past CyberLife to be at ease with that. But when they tell the public there's a problem with their androids and it results in losing money, now that, I can see them destroying you all to start over again."

A haunted expression stole over Connor.

"What's wrong?"

He exhaled. "You and Hank always find a way to make things...difficult." I wasn't entirely sure what he meant but I kept still. "Amanda hides more from me than I thought. There are more Connor models than I think she lets on; she knew of Kamski and how his cousin went to your university, there's so much. I've considered the possibility of her harming you, and I don't like those chances."

It was like someone had slapped me. There could only be one person he was referring to. "Excuse me, what? Gavin and Kamski are cousins?"

The image of Gavin and Kamski standing side by side flashed before me, but it felt so off. And yet, so true.

"Of course, you didn't know?"

"No! He never once told me that. And he went with me to see Kamski when Carl had me gift him a painting - fucking hell, that bastard was messing with me. Why does this all make so much sense?" I asked him, as if he could supply the answer. "They're both such assholes, they both have the same whiny voice. We're gonna need to talk, how could he hide that from me?" Not to mention he'd been so worried about me going to see Kamski - he must've known about the crazy tests he performed on poor disillusioned saps like myself. Maybe his cousin had even messed with him the same way.

Connor looked quite pleased by my dumbfounded expression. I asked, "Did you know I was with the FBI all along?"

"When Kamski intervened to take me back and repair me himself, instead of letting CyberLife decide my fate, Amanda linked him to you. She believed that he'd never involve himself unless someone important were involved, or at least that's what she told me. She never exposed your identity, she only wanted to know about you. I did my best to remain practical," he said, "but now knowing just how impressive you are, I feel quite honored to be your partner. I would be, no matter your title; I just find it a relief to know you've been rewarded for your services."

Connor quirked one of his strange smiles, and I smiled back.

"Guess I haven't completely lost my touch, if not even CyberLife's most advanced model couldn't tell." Still, the threat of Amanda bearing down on me wasn't a light one. I was terrified of what she might do, she was CyberLife's avatar itself. I was simply a piece of driftwood that had lodged itself in their path.

Connor asked, clearly genuine curious, "What's your mission?"

Technically, I shouldn't tell anyone, but that was my choice. "To investigate CyberLife. I must ensure they're not out to destroy our nation, among other things."

He paused, thinking my statement through. "I don't understand. Why is she so adamant on getting rid of you if that's all that your mission is? You're simply following protocol - you're not the only one investigating them. Perkins is obviously doing the same thing you are."

"Maybe you can ask her," I said, "but Carl told me I have a way of pulling deviancy out of androids."

We were nearing a well-lit area, where people were unloading crates onto the snow-slicked pavement. They were likely deviants, because what humans would be loading supplies into the deviant's hideout? It's not like there weren't any humans who supported the androids. Many had sympathized with their plight in the wake of the horrific march that had left several androids dead. I doubted the androids had let any humans know of Jericho to begin with, unless they absolutely trusted them. I lifted my face to the sky and stuck out my tongue. The slight shock of snowflakes was refreshing, and sloughed off the burdens of the day.

"You do." Connor murmured so softly I might not have heard him if he weren't beside me. I swung around to look at him, struggling to make out his features obscured in shadow. He gazed back at me with a tenderness that set my heart on fire, and then they grew darker, as if to ensnare me. I halted in my tracks and Connor's lips parted. He was looking at me the way I'd always wanted him to one day look at me, and I had no idea how I should react.

And that's when the facade I'd been encasing myself in shattered. My feelings for him weren't one-sided. They had never been one-sided.

"Fuck, Girard, watch it!" one of the deviants shouted, shoving a crate off of his foot. Connor and I awkwardly stood there as the aforementioned Girard pushed the crate into the storage area, then turned around to greet us.

Connor slipped in front of me and lifted a hand in greeting. "Good evening!" Oh my shit, if he said the line-

"Hey there, what can I do for you?"

"I came to Jericho to be free," he answered, and Girard nodded as if he'd seen enough of this to be used to it.

"In there." He pointed down the brightly-lit facility, and we thanked him and walked in, hand-in-hand.

Connor was frowning and I nudged him lightly. "What, upset you didn't have to prove to them we were deviants?"

He balked, then tried to cover it up. "No," he protested petulantly. We passed through a steel door, using a wheel-handle to open it. It closed behind us heavily, and both of us gripped onto each other at the noise, and didn't let go. We were in the belly of the beast. And Connor had to face the abyss.

Wandering down the long halls, following whatever layout Connor had discovered, I wondered how the deviants had managed to survive in this place. It was dim inside Jericho, the lighting only barely a dull yellow. A drafty breeze whistled through the metal ship and seeped through my clothes. To compliment the dreary place, a lovely rotting stench of low-tide hung stagnant in the air.

"First, we find Markus," he said beneath his breath. "Then," his gaze cut to mine, almost shy. "You promised we'd talk."

My mouth went dry with nerves, and it was a wonder I managed to say, "Yeah." I wished I'd said something cooler.

When he opened another door, we descended down a flight of stairs, and found the room filled with deviants. TV screens blared with several different news channels, all currently discussing the live coverage regarding the government-mandated rounding up of deviants, and what deviancy was doing to the nation. I craned my neck back to look up at the second floor, which was really just a metal walkway.

Androids from all walks of life had congregated together for shelter, all of them bringing with them their own knowledge and tools. The lighting in this room was stronger than in the halls, and the room was generously divided to give both the androids and supplies enough space to prevent claustrophobia setting in. Considering who their leader was, I wasn't surprised. Markus had always excelled at shaping a room to his vision, to getting something done, to being a leader.

"It appears Detroit has been placed under a curfew," Connor said, nodding at one of the TVs.

"Glad we made it then," I sighed, feeling restless. "Should we split up?"

Connor nodded. "That'd certainly make things go quicker. Oh, I can contact Emma's cell, just type in my name and message me, and then I can register the number."

"Thank you," I told him, and let go of his hand.

"Officer?" I turned back around to find him regarding me with a slightly disappointed expression. He looked so out of his element, standing with a very wide stance, and his eyes round with worry. "I won't hurt him, you have my word."

"I trust you," I told him. Connor stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. I stiffened, before wrapping my arms around him. "I'll look on the ground floor and let you know if I see him. Look upstairs for me."

We broke apart, and it was like a part of me had gone with him. He started towards the stairs when an android with the back of her skull exposed approached him. Wires and circuitry spilled down her back in elegant braids. Her body language was open and friendly, which set me at ease.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two people heading straight for me. One was towering and impressive, the kind of person that people looked up at and thought, don't mess with him. But he looked at the person before him with a gentleness that anyone would melt at, completely disrupting the rest of his appearance. The second person was willowy and petite, and her hair was shorn in a jagged, ruffled style. In direct contrast, her entire disposition was sweeter than honey. She smiled at me. Without thinking, I ran to her.

"Kara, you're alright," I said, leaning in to hug her. She returned my embrace easily. "What happened to your girl?"

Kara glanced over her shoulder, back from where she'd come, and said, "Over there, warming herself." Her gaze softened, almost sadly, as if she'd recently realized something that had shaken her world. "What are you doing here, though? I mean, I'm happy to see you again, but…"

She was on edge. I couldn't blame her, considering the past. So I started with, "I'm not here to hurt anyone."

At that, her friend started in alarm. Kara leaned into him. "This is Luther. He's the one who helped Alice and I get here." She smiled up at him with gratitude, and he returned the expression.

"It's nice to meet you, Luther." I held out a hand. He hesitated before taking it and shaking it.

I gave him my first name and he repeated it back to me in a kindly tone. "I think I know who you are, based off the little adventures you told me about," he said to the both of us, with a knowing look.

"I trust you," she continued. "You put yourself in danger to help me and Alice get away, but that android," she nodded at Connor, who was staring after the stranger who'd accosted him. "He's the one who went after us."

Luther glared in Connor's direction suspiciously, and then at me.

"Connor won't do anything, we came together, to talk to Marcus - he's an old friend of mine," I hurriedly explained.

Kara pursed her lips, her gaze searching mine. "There are some androids in Jericho who hate humans. They'd attack you, given the chance. You should go with him. North, in particular, may lash out at you if she finds you here. Although," Kara's laugh was like a tinkling brook, "if she's with Chloe, she'll tone it down. Chloe's very receptive towards humans, and it seems North has begrudgingly learned to accept that."

Chloe? "An RT600 model?"

"Yes, a pretty blonde girl," Luther replied. Kara glanced up at him in surprise.

"I suppose she is pretty, but yes, she's here. With North," she added for emphasis.

What on earth was Chloe doing here? I'd have to call Kamski about that.

I said, "I'm afraid we need to find Markus right away, so we split up to look for him."

"I understand, but please be careful." Kara sighed. "Well, I should get back to Alice, I hope you find him soon. Last I spoke to him, he was upstairs, but he left with a few others to talk."

"Do you know where they went?"

She dipped her head and clasped her hands together. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Luther also shook his head, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't be sorry, it's alright," I reassured her. "I'll look around. I can handle myself."

Kara held my gaze. "I don't doubt that you can, if your opponent is a human." She beamed. "Thank you again, for giving me and Alice a chance. She means everything to me," her voice cracked, "I'll do whatever it takes to get her out of this."

She loved Alice. The sentiment shone in her tears.

"You'll make it." I found myself speaking without thinking. "If anyone can get her out of here, it's you."

Kara wiped her tears away and thanked me, before she headed back to a stack of supply crates with Luther. I felt lighter, happier than ever that I'd stopped Connor from capturing them. Right - I needed to find Markus. Earlier none of the androds had paid me any heed, or maybe I'd just been blinded to it all by the sheer amount of deviants in one place. Now, though, they stared at me.

A man in the yellow and blue Stratford work uniform eyed me with thinly concealed distrust, and another woman watched me with round, wide eyes. Whispers intermingled among the conversations, all geared towards the news.

If Connor had taken the stairs, he was likely snooping around the upper decks. As discreetly as possible, I felt for my carry on, then turned around and headed back out the door to the hallway to search the deck. It stretched on for who knows how long the ship was, until soon the lights dimmed and then burned out completely.

There was no chance of finding Markus here.

I pulled out Emma's phone from my pocket and unlocked her screen. The photo of me and her hugging Daniel rattled me, and I shut my eyes for a moment to calm down. Then I opened a message and sent it to Connor.

Nothing on the first deck. You?

I'd never texted an android before, so I wasn't entirely sure how this all worked. An answering ping sounded before I could ponder it too deeply.

Come upstairs.

How oddly demanding and impolite. Then again, Connor could be a dick sometimes. I swiped a hand down my face and pocketed the cell. I hadn't even thought about that survey I'd need to take. It probably wasn't much, but the way Connor was making it out to be, maybe they weren't innocent questions. Oh God, if one of them was 'would you have sex with an android?' I'd lose it.

Several doors before the one that led into the main room where the deviants were gathered, there was a small staircase leading to the upper floor. My footsteps clanged all the way up.

The phone pinged again, and when I read the message I cursed. It was from Perkins, fuck me.

Did you not think about how your toy was registered in our database in August? We can track you both. I don't know what you hope to accomplish, but if you interfere with the state's demands, I have permission to handle you myself.

"And fuck you, too," I said, then I slipped the phone into my jacket pocket. "He's going to find us soon, shit. Unless, he's already here…" I had to find Connor and Markus - now.

I sprinted down the hall towards the next set of stairs before a voice stopped me. Down the hall a door opened, spilling flickering yellow light onto the floor. Connor poked his head out of the door.

"Connor? Where have you been? Did you find Markus?" I asked him, exasperatedly. My partner waved at me to come in, and I marched down to the door he'd opened. When I stepped through, he closed the door behind me and pushed me against the wall.

In any other situation, I'd find this to be something to look forward to. His dark eyes bore into mine, and that little strand of his hair caressed his brow and - he was in his CyberLife uniform. The imposter Connor loomed over me like a predator cornering his prey.

"Amanda hides more from me than I thought. There are more Connor models than I think she lets on…"

In seconds I had my gun trained on him, right below his jaw. "Who the hell are you?"

He wasn't Connor, it couldn't be him. His gaze was cold, mechanical, merciless. He reached for me, and I slammed the muzzle of my gun into his cheek. His skin peeled back to reveal a patch of smooth white porcelain. Then his gaze narrowed and he pinned me against the door, shoving my back into the wheel-handle.

Kara was right. I wasn't a match for an android. I wouldn't go down without a fight though, even if he looked like Connor.

"Perkins is here, isn't he?" The android just stared at me. "Tell him he can go fuck himself. Now where is he?" If he was on the Jericho, there'd be chaos.

"FBI Special Agent Phillips," he addressed me in a very stilted, cold tone, like metal. "Amanda is very disappointed in you, as am I."

I scowled to hide my fear. "Sorry, but I don't work for her, and I sure as hell don't care what she thinks."

His features twisted into a cruel mockery of Connor's awkward, sincere smile, and he wrenched my gun away with brute strength and threw it to the ground with a clatter. "You shouldn't play with guns, you know better than that."

"Sorry bud," I snapped, "I earned my gun."

It was like he hadn't heard me, or maybe he just didn't care what I'd said. He pinched my chin between his fingers so hard it hurt. "The RK800 model 51 has failed several of its missions. It's beyond laughable." I couldn't push him away, he was like a wall; he took his other hand and pressed his fingers hard into my cheekbones. Pressed down harder and harder. "Oh, that's going to leave a bruise. I hope you don't mind." Then he opened my mouth by pulling down hard on my jaw.

I kicked him in the groin, the only area I could reach, but the android didn't react. "It's pathetic how it wasted precious time, how it didn't collect the evidence she ordered it to collect for her. How it didn't shoot the leader of the deviants."

Connor had already met with Markus?

The imposter continued, "She always knew it would betray her when the time came, but she still wanted to give it a chance it never deserved. I'm the one who will do what it won't. She has no reason to be disappointed in me. She gives me a mission, and I will carry it out." He smirked, flashing his teeth. I gathered a scream and he raised his eyebrows. "Go on. It'll only send them running straight to me."

I quaked with rage and frustration at the utter helplessness I felt. "Ah, that's right. You're in love with it. How utterly deplorable," he spat. I couldn't help but notice how this android was so similar to a deviant. He wasn't just a cold, unfeeling thing; this one delighted in everything he was doing to me, his emotions were just on the opposite end of the spectrum to most. The android tilted his head to the side and he mimicked my partner's kind, innocent expression. "I'll make sure I upload my memories just for it. If it was going to go deviant, it should've just done everything it's been fantasizing about," he purred.

Then he tipped my head back, and his mouth crashed against mine. I snorted air through my nostrils and shoved at him, but it was useless. With both hands, he stretched my face and jaw to his choosing, like I was a doll. It prevented me from biting down on his own mouth, trapping me, as he leaned his body into me. The wheel-handle of the door dug into my lower back. The android laughed against my lips as he sank his teeth down into my tongue and iron flooded my senses. He scraped his tongue against mine.

I struggled for oxygen, and flailed about in his grasp. He pulled back, and made a thoughtful noise. "The human mouth houses a disgusting concentration of germs. Normally, I'd cut the rest of you open and collect a sample from that, but I have my orders to keep you alive. And," his lips twisted, "it'll be much more fun to see its reaction."

Then he bent forward again and this time his teeth ripped into my tongue. I cried out, but it was muffled against his mouth. His teeth dug deep into the muscle, and I thought he was going to bite it right off out my mouth. Right as the pain almost succeeded in tearing a cry from my throat, he let go of my jaw and removed his teeth from my tongue, with a nasty squelching sound. His lips glistened a bright, vivid red.

Connor's face stared back at me as waves of pain gurgled out of my mouth. Warm blood trickled over my lips and he smeared it all over my chin with his fingers, delighting in the sight. "I now have what I need, thank you for your cooperation. Unfortunately, I must wait for further orders, so killing you isn't part of my mission." He shoved me away from him and I bolted for my gun, but he was already out of the door.

"You piece of shit!" I screeched, yanking the door open.

Where had he gone? There was no sign of him, he'd moved so fast. I didn't waste time, I tore up the stairs, eyes peeled. I'd fucking kill him.

And then the earth tilted in a sonorous explosion of sound. I was thrown against a door, the metal slamming hard into my spine. I kept a tight grip on my gun and gasped, clutching onto the door to stay upright as the ship resettled itself. The blood in my mouth choked my airways and I coughed to clear it, wincing at the movement against my tongue and the red splattering onto the ground.

When the ship righted itself, there was a succession of loud bangs, like doors slamming open all over the entire freighter. Perkins was here. Was he working with that sadistic Connor android, or had Amanda simply sent him here?

Screams of horror bubbled up from the main floor; the lights above me flickered on and off. I frantically messaged Connor, hoping the other one wouldn't reply.

Don't give me your location, there's a Connor model on board. I think he's after you.

The phone immediately pinged back with: I did this. I'm so sorry. She told me If I betrayed her, she'd have to hurt you. I couldn't shoot Markus, but now they hurt you.

I scrambled back downstairs. Where was he? I needed to find Kara, or Luther - someone who could help me track him down. That's when I heard the gun fire.

Raising a hand to my face, I swiped a finger through my blood. At least they wouldn't mistake me for an android. I readied my gun and took the stairs two at a time, landing amidst a sea of chaos. Deviants scattered like ants beneath an onslaught of SWAT members. One of them gunned down a pair of women racing for the hall, and Thirium spread like a river beneath their bodies.

This was a massacre.

My phone pinged: Are you alright? I can't find you!

A group of SWAT neared me, killing several people around me in a torrent of bullets and blue blood.

One of them looked at me and said, "Did they kidnap you?"

I was about to refute that idea when I reconsidered. Perkins might be looking for me. I nodded. "Thank you," I gasped, then raced away, leaving them utterly confused.

The gunfire was rapid and non-stop, cutting off screams and cries for mercy. The volley of bullets was deafening and I fought to ignore it, intent on locating Connor.

I cut around a corner, nearly running point-blank into a barrel. The SWAT member jerked back in surprise and I grabbed his weapon, kicked his leg out from under him, and shoved him to the floor. I ripped away his weapon and took off around another corner without pause.

To my astonishment, I heard several voices I recognized. I sprinted faster and found Markus, Simon, and Josh, racing in the opposite direction. I caught up to them and attempted to call out their names, mangling it with my useless tongue.

Markus spun around, his eyes burning with hatred and pain; they widened in horror at the sight of me. "Oh my God," he said, pulling me to them, "what happened?"

Simon and Josh just stared mutely at the blood on my face.

"Where's North?" The redhead wasn't with them. Markus looked away.

"She went down to the hold to detonate Jericho," he hesitated, "don't go after her. You'll only get yourself killed, and CyberLife already sent their dog after her."

That bastard. "Get to safety, and help Connor."

Markus grabbed my arm. "Don't! I already lost Carl, I won't lose you too!"

"Carl is counting on you to lead a peaceful revolution and so am I," I fumbled over my words, not helped by my tongue. "And I have a bone to pick with that asshole." I hefted the sniper rifle in my arms and glared.

Markus looked behind me, flinching against the gunfire ricocheting throughout the decks. "Don't die." He accentuated his words with steel. Then he spun around, and took off again with Simon and Josh.

I wouldn't shoot the SWAT members unless they opened fire on me, which was very likely considering that they were shooting at anything that moved currently.

I weaved through the stampede of SWAT teams and deviants, carefully slipping through the halls unnoticed. The hold was at the very bottom of the ship, and since I was already on the first floor, I only needed to go down a flight or two.

A hail of bullets blasted so close to my left that I had to press myself flat against a wall and wait for it to fade into the distance. Breathing out the anxiety drumming along my veins, I checked the rounds of bullets in my new rifle, then slunk down the hall toward the stairs.

I jumped down the flight in one go, landing hard onto the balls of my feet, and -

-came face to face with a SWAT personnel about to open fire on a cowering android right next to me. I lurched up, fast as a viper, and swung the butt of the rifle into their helmet. The attack stunned them for a moment, and I used that second's opening to jam my gun into their gloved, padded hands. It was enough to dislodge their grip, and the android ran away.

I shoved the personnel to the floor, tore off his helmet, and whacked him upside the temple with my gun. Wouldn't do any good to kill him - he was just following orders, and he might have a family I didn't want to tear apart, but it'd be worse to have him on my tail. I harried around a corner, finally slamming through the doors leading into the hold.

The room was doused in red lighting, painting North in hues of vengeance and fury. She lay on the ground, one hand covering her torso, blue blood coating her fingers. Chloe tried to cover North as best as she could with her own body, tears streaming down her cheeks as she begged the Connor model not to kill North.

This cutthroat Connor didn't even look at me, he just pointed his gun in my direction and fired. I barely had time to dodge, and the bullet tore through the wall right where I'd been standing. I aimed and fired back at him, puncturing a hole in his chest. Then his arm. I circled around and put a bullet in the back of his head. Thirium splashed onto my face. He sank to his knees, hunching over himself in a strange, unsettling manner. He didn't move again.

"Are you alright?" I extended a hand to North and she glanced up at me warily. The red glow of the lighting only served to make her look even more infuriated by everything.

"She's been shot," Chloe cried, helping me pull North to her feet. "We didn't get a chance to detonate it, he just came in and shot her. He was just playing with us like a cat."

I helped them to the door. "It's okay, tell me how to do it. You need to get out of here, Markus is waiting."

Chloe sniffed, and told me how to activate the bomb. "North, come on love, we gotta get out of here," she encouraged the other woman.

North turned a hard glare onto me, and slowly, she dipped her head. "Thank you," she murmured, and let Chloe lead her out. In her hand, North gripped a gun.

I crossed to the control panel and input the series of commands I'd just learnt, then set off the bomb. Sparing a glance at the dead Connor model, I fled and made my way back to the main hall.

Most of the decks had been cleared out by the SWAT team as they'd travelled deeper, flushing out every deviant they could find. Markus and the squad were huddled down a long stretch of a hallway before a chunk of the ship that had been torn open, and I forced my legs to go faster.

"Officer!" A voice called from my side, and I found Connor running at me. He crushed me to his chest, then released me to cup my face.

"We gotta go," I told him, breathless, moving towards the opening in the ship that everyone was gathered at. North and Chloe glanced at us before leaping through the hole and into the night. Markus ushered Simon and Josh through next, never looking away from the scene unfolding in front of him.

Connor said, "I'm so sorry, I can't seem to stop her. She knows everything, no matter how hard I try to hide it. And he did this." He ran his thumb through the blood surrounding my mouth.

"I killed him," I said, but it came out as a horrid tangle of sound. How anyone could understand what I was saying was beyond me.

His voice trembled. "I'm trying to find the backdoor. But I can't and she found out where we were and-"

"Perkins found us, it's not your fault."

"They registered me for the hostage situation in August, of course it's my fault. Because I didn't shoot Markus," he raised a trembling hand to my face, "she did that to you."

"I shot his ass, he won't bother me again."

Connor shook his head, "I did this, I'm so sorry."

I grabbed his face between my hands. "No, it's not your fault. Amanda's manipulating you." The gunfire was getting louder, we didn't have long. "You're Connor, you always accomplish your mission, don't you? You'll find that backdoor, I know you will. You're the best partner anyone could ever ask for, so you can do this."

He shuddered. "I want to find it. But she knows, and she'll do whatever it takes to make sure I don't find it. She hurt you to prove that." He leaned down and frowned at the splatter of Thirium on my cheek, right before he licked my face, causing me to freeze. "He was another model they created after me. There's likely many more Connor models." Oh, he'd been analyzing blood samples again. I still wasn't used to that. He let go of me and said in a voice wracked with desperation, "Don't follow me. She'll kill you if you do. I'll find the backdoor," and then he jumped out of the hole to disappear into the night.

"No! Connor, you idiot!" I cried, and Markus steadied me at the edge of the ship's hole.

"We need to go," he murmured.

"You knew he was going to leave," I snarled at him. He took the rifle from me and tossed it to the ground.

Markus said, "I'm not gonna have them shoot you down, come on." I reluctantly climbed atop his back. "Trust him - if it makes you feel any better, he almost shot me, but he didn't. Do you know why?" He got to the edge of the ship and said, "He tried to become a deviant. Because of you."

And then he jumped. Soon Jericho would blow up, crumbling a fortress that had been so easily broken into. This was the promised land of fools, who mercilessly gunned down people because of fear. Like fools, we fell into a sea of choppy, chilling waters, just waiting to pull us under, and all I could think as the waters closed over my head, was of Connor.

He was losing to Amanda, and I needed to stop her. He would kill Markus if I didn't stop him.