AN: A few months ago, my beta reader unfortunately lost her pet. I took a break from writing for her and around Thanksgiving, both my dog and my dad nearly died. My dad decided to go mountain biking Thanksgiving morning, crashed and broke several of his bones. Some of his ribs punctured several holes in his lung tissue. Somehow he made it back home and collapsed in our kitchen and we raced him to the ER. We were told he might not make it. He made it through surgery and was recovering, but sometime after that, my dog (who has epilepsy) began to have a seizure. We had to take him to the ER as well and were told he might not make it as well. That we would have to maybe put him down. Without going too in-depth about the other things that happened after (separate incidents unrelated to my dad and dog) I lost it. I felt like I couldn't deal with what was happening around me so I took a break from writing. Things only got worse. I don't want to talk about them because reliving what I went through is like going through hell all over again. So I can only thank you for supporting me with your amazing comments and well-wishes. I can't begin to thank you guys enough for your support!

This chapter has not been edited by my beta but I hope that it is still half as good as the last chapters have been.

The medic had long since finished stitching me up, leaving me to wait off the numbing medicine. For the most part, it had nearly subsided; I was sore but I could at least speak normally again. So when I saw two people who shouldn't be here skirting around the cement slabs, I thought the medicine may have had some side effects: Gavin Reed and Chris Miller gunned straight for me. Their feet pounded the snow-covered ground like thunder shaking the skies and Gavin's furious expression forced a nervous smile to twitch on my face.

I was going to need the medic again.

Awkwardly, I slid off the cement slab, nearly crashing down and face-planting in the process. They weren't supposed to be here. How did they know where I was? Did they know I was a special agent? A swarm of fears buzzed around in my skull like flies over carrion. I may as well be dead meat at this rate.

"You piece of shit!" Gavin roared. After several months of working together Chris knew exactly what Gavin would do in any given situation. It was thanks to his quick thinking that we all didn't topple to the ground. Chris got to me first, grabbed my shoulders as if to shield me, and I had only a moment to brace for impact. Gavin barreled into Chris like a semi into a car. But Gavin's force catapulted Chris into me, and I strained with all of my muscles to keep upright.

Yep, they were here alright. No side effects at all.

Bracing my hands against Chris's chest, I shoved him back and away from me. He knocked into Gavin, who was breathing heavily from his little sprint. Gavin clearly wanted to engage in some kind of argument, but I didn't give it to him. "Hey, guys," I said.

"Don't, 'hey guys' me," Gavin retorted in a high voice as if to mimic mine. "Where the fuck is Plastic Prick?" He jabbed a finger at me and stomped forward until he was only a few inches away. "I'm gonna smash his head in."

Instead of answering him, I asked Chris, "How did you get in here? Or know where I was?"

Gavin scoffed in disbelief that I'd completely ignored him.

"Everything's going live, you know." Chris said, holding out his phone to show me the news, which was currently an overhead view of Markus's group. Chris then gestured toward the fence, where journalists were busy taking notes and trucks with the logos of other news stations plastered on their doors were screeching into the area to park. Their doors opened and more people clambered out, unloading cameras and mics. Behind us stood the android recall center, where androids were being torn apart and disassembled. Every news station in the city was going to come here to capture the confrontation between deviants and mankind. "Kinda strange seeing Captain Allen taking you into custody but then again this is you we're talking about. And these were helpful getting us through the fence," he added, removing his badge from his coat's pocket. "A bunch of riot police are guarding the fence now."

"Hello, Phillips," Gavin snapped. "I'm talking to you asshole."

"You should be with your family, getting them out of here." I continued speaking to Chris. Gavin growled and circled around us so that he was standing in front of us. The way he was breathing heavily only incited Chris to continue ignoring him as if to mess with the grumpy detective.

"Oh don't worry about me, I'll catch up with them. Duty calls, right?" he winked. "I'm wondering about you, though. Gavin and I went straight to your home and found your mom and Emma packing up, saying they were leaving and that you're not their business."

"That's Mom," I agreed.

Chris shook his head. "Where's Connor? You two just skedaddled out of the station." That's when I noticed the little tell near his nose. A muscle that always ticked when he was lying about something.

I shot Gavin an accusatory look and then snapped, "Out with it, both of you." He was the most likely to quip back defensively and sure enough he reacted right away.

"Why don't you," Gavin snapped back. "Running off like that and letting that thing attack me. Explain."

"You're the one who threatened him with a gun," I pointed out.

On a skirl of wind, Perkins appeared around the corner of the cement slab. "How did you get in here?" he demanded.

Chris and Gavin both glanced back at the man, who strode forward and sized each of them up. As if amused with what he'd found, Perkins smirked. "You were at the Stratford Tower," he addressed Chris, startling my friend. "But you," Perkins made a show of running another disapproving glance over Gavin. "State your name and rank."

Gavin languidly rolled his shoulders back and proudly drawled, "Detective Reed, sure you've heard of me."

"I can't say that I have," Perkins said dismissively. "Leave my fort."

"Your fort?" Gavin snickered, and Perkins's cold gaze locked onto him.

"Detective," he said, "your badge isn't a decoration. I'm sure you're well aware."

"Shove it." Gavin replied and all of us froze in shock. Holy shit, he didn't. "Now, I have some choice words for my coworker, if you don't mind."

Chris stepped forward and said, "I'm so sorry, sir. Gavin's been dealing with a lot today, what with all of the androids going nuts and stuff. And his coworker kinda knocked him out colder than stone so he's pretty embarrassed about it."

Gavin snatched my arm and dragged me away to a more secluded area while Chris continued to placate the man in charge of this area.

"Hey, what gives?" I said, wrenching out of his grip. "You're the one who raised your weapon to kill him first so -"

"Listen up," Gavin spoke quietly, a low growl. "I'm done trying to understand why you're always on their side - but," he stared at me pointedly, "I'm no idiot. Either you did something horribly wrong to get caught up with Perkins or you were in the wrong spot at the wrong time."

I slammed a wall over my expression, fighting away the relief that he didn't know my connection to them. Then again, maybe I'd lose my job after this mess and he'd find out anyway.

"I can't understand why you care," he continued, squeezing his eyes shut, as if struggling to comprehend what I was doing. "But your sister cares a lot about them - and she's just a kid. I still think androids are dangerous pieces of shit taking over all our jobs, but maybe I'm wrong. Kids and animals can tell when something's not right, and Sumo and Emma love Plastic Prick."

"So you're not going to try and kill him again?"

His eyes fluttered open and he said, bitterly, "Don't try your luck. What I'm trying to say is, we don't know how this is gonna turn out. They may rise up and go terminator on all our asses. What, tell me you've seen Terminator? You know what nevermind. Point is, if they do we're screwed. But," he sighed, one huge gust that sent my hair flying. His next words were a very awkward grumble."I trust you. Sometimes. Maybe."

I smiled. "Maybe?" Gavin glanced up to check on Perkins and Chris, then looked down at me. "What are you two hiding from me?" I asked him.

"You do realize the irony here, don't you?"

"Gavin," I said warningly.

"We got a call from Hank. He and your plastic bits are going to see Kamski. But before that, they broke into the station."

"They what?" my voice rose to a high octave and Gavin slapped his palm over my mouth. I ripped his hand off, and said, "Why? Are they alright?" My mind was racing and my nerves were singing. What if they were caught? Connor could be on his way to this camp right now. Maybe he was already in there.

"Calm your tits, they're fine. Most of the station ran out with their tail between their legs after the news started talking about an android revolution. Sure did a fine job painting the end of the world for humanity, can't say I blame them for saying fuck this. Hank didn't tell me why they went to see douche-bun, so I'm guessing you know what they're doing."

I opened my mouth to speak and a croak was all that came out. Swallowing, I tried again. "No, I haven't a clue why they'd go there. What would they even want from him, the guy's a complete loon." I faltered, glancing up at the detective. Connor had told me Gavin and Kamski were cousins. Gavin frowned slightly at the face I was making. "You know Kamski better than I do," I said. It could've been the way my voice cracked or the way I was looking at him or the words I'd chosen; all at once his face crumpled in shame and his gaze flicked to the side. "I'm not here to accuse you for letting him test me," I reassured him. "I just wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me."

He said, "You know I can't stand androids - why would I tell my friend my own blood created them? Especially one as crazy about plastic as you."

"You're like Epimetheus."

"What?" he deadpanned.

"No, not really," I continued. "You won't give Kamski's creation Pandora." If Gavin truly wanted all the androids gone he wouldn't be checking up on me, telling me about any of this, or even questioning if Connor had humanity.

"Oh my God, I don't get philosophy, okay? Listening to him talk like that was so fucking annoying."

Warmth lit up my chest and I said, "Thank you. For always being there. Hard to imagine we got this far because I stopped your friends from injecting you with red ice."

"Excuse me, we fought them off, little Miss Fucking Hero Complex. And what did I say about thanking me?" he snapped.

I flipped him the bird and he made an approving noise in the back of his throat. This man, I swear. "I'm joining Markus's side," I told him. He said nothing, only watched me as if he'd expected nothing less.

"What about Plastic Prick?"

"I have to do what I can, while Hank and Connor are out there fighting. And I can do that by standing up for what I believe in."

Gavin let out an exasperated sigh and clapped me on the shoulder. "Sometimes I wonder if you're not just a police officer."

"Oh?" I said, worried I'd outed myself.

He nodded. "You're scared as shit of everything you're doing but you keep fighting anyway. Not bad." Then he let go of me, leaving me reeling from the compliment. That did just happen, right? Maybe the medicine did have side effects...

There was the sound of footsteps behind me and Chris sighed. "Perkins wants us gone," he said, approaching us. He shivered in his thick coat. "The guy's like ice, just talking to him is bad enough. Sucks you have to be stuck here with him. So, what are you going to do?"

The Jackal eyed us from a small distance away. "Can you two to cover for me? I need to get to the other side."

"Of course," Chris said and Gavin nodded solemnly. "Then what?"

"I'm going to follow Markus."

Chris hesitated. "They may shoot you down."

"I promised Emma I'd see her again soon and I promised Connor I wouldn't throw my life away. This isn't a choice I'm making on a whim. And I know they won't." Well, they very well could after I'd reached the androids but the fact remained that shooting me had its bag of consequences. None of which Perkins would want to put over his own head.

"Good, because you always getting battered worries me. You've been dealing with a lot, but throwing yourself into danger is like a second blow." Chris said.

Gavin cracked his knuckles. "I'll go for his nose, you go for the -"

Chris barked, "No, detective dumbass! Just because this may be a world-end scenario doesn't mean you can go full ninja on the guy."

"That's exactly why we gotta," Gavin retorted.

"Guys, make up your mind, here he comes."

Perkins apparently had given up on waiting for the guys to leave because he was now stalking toward us, a dark scowl on his face. Gavin and Chris swarmed the Jackal together, exclaiming in loud voices that they had a right to be here. I slipped past Perkins's blind spots and wormed my way around the barriers. His men threw me wary glances as I passed them, and it was as I neared the last two rows of cement slabs, that they realized I had a destination in mind.

"Hey!" One of the men called out to me, and I broke into a run. I slapped one hand onto one of the cement slabs and cleared the stone in one leap, sliding over the snow-slick ground. Two men rushed at me and I ducked beneath their outstretched arms, weaving around them.

Spinning around, I dropped to my feet and swept a leg out, tripping one of them. His partner's feet got caught up in his ankles and he toppled onto him. Wasting no time, I clambered over the last slab and pelted down the street.

Behind me the sharp screech of static ripped the air and then Perkins's voice blared from a loudspeaker. "Special Agent Phillips, don't make me detain you."

My feet slowed to a stop. A good distance separated the two of us. He stood behind a cement slab, several of his men surrounding him. Beside him, Chris and Gavin stared at me with round-eyes and open mouths.

To say I'd not expected that was an understatement. Well, nothing I could do about my identity being outed now.

Fixing Perkins with a determined glare, I shouted so loudly my voice stretched thin. "The androids are alive."

"You're deceiving yourself. We spoke about this already, girl." Perkins stepped over the slab of cement and raised the loudspeaker to his mouth. "Get back here now. When I write you up -"

I closed myself off to his threat. He didn't have to tell me I was going to lose my job if I turned my back on him. Meanwhile, all of the reporters and journalists to my left on the other side of the fence were busy filming and scribbling down whatever they could.

Perkins seemed to revel in his audience and that gave him more of an incentive to make me seem like a fool. He said, "How can we trust androids when they've been programmed to interact with humans peacefully? How can we believe them when they say they don't want to harm us but they want freedom through violence? Everything they are is because of us. And yet...there's no way we can determine if they're telling the truth. And if we can't trust them, how are we at fault for retaliating and protecting ourselves when they attack us? It's the equivalent of someone's cell phone attacking them because we slapped it for not working."

"What would convince you?" I asked him.

"It's impossible, Phillips. The only way anyone could fathom them being alive was if an android risked their life for a human, showing that they knew how to care. But even if that happened we'd all know it was their programming telling them to do it." He paused, smiling a slow smile. "You like to let the words of smarter people speak for you, so why don't I put it in perspective for you?" Behind him, Chris pointed at his head and made a circling motion with his finger like Perkins was missing a few screws, rolling his eyes as he did so. One of Perkins's men jostled him and Gavin snickered. "There is no love greater than to lay down one's life for a friend - but how can I believe that when androids aren't supposed to harm a human? When they're programmed to save human lives? Do you see my point? Now, stop this nonsense and come back here. You're a disgrace to -"

I said, "They can harm humans if they choose to. They don't want to fight you! They've been peaceful this whole time!"

In the back of my mind, I recalled Carl's words. "If a machine can prove they have the capacity to love, they have become human. No-one can refute that. And to them, it will no longer be an evil. You will have become familiar to them."

Perkins lowered his loudspeaker for a second and I wondered what he was thinking. But the fury on his face soon spelled it out for me. He raised it to his lips. "Do as you like," he practically spat. "But know that you chose your fate, not me. The law washes your blood from my hands."

'Civilians are not permitted to take direct part in hostilities and are immune from attack. If they take a direct part in hostilities they forfeit this immunity.' The second I joined Markus's group, I was fair game. Only if Markus's people were violent, that was.

"There's always a choice," I said, before I turned around and walked the long walk to meet up with Markus, who was marching with his people toward Perkins. As I closed in on them, I heard the chink of metal and the click of magazines being loaded into rifles. The crunch of snow beneath many boots as Perkins and his men got into position.

I stopped right before Markus and said, "I'll walk with you."

"Connor told me what happened to you, you don't need to explain. But I'm glad to see you're here no matter what happens. You're a true friend." His words were soft and sincere and I could've sworn I saw a gleam of wetness shining in his eyes. I wanted so badly to ask him what Connor was up to, how he was, but he swept past me, heading toward his own destiny.

I took my place beside Simon, who offered me a shy smile. North glanced over at me, and despite the worry she tried to conceal beneath a mask of ferocity, she spared me a nod of acknowledgement. "Our people are behind those bastards," she said, as if to she were trying to steady her nerves. She swung her torch-red braid over her shoulder and focused her attention squarely on her enemy.

To my left, the reporters and camera men volleyed for a decent spot to film and up above in a helicopter, Joss Douglas presented the unfurling action. Mom and Emma might see me on TV, were probably watching this right now. I started to sweat. It wasn't Mom's disappointment that did it, it was the cold hard fact that the world was watching a group of androids swarming the streets of Detroit and no-one knew what they had in mind.

Despite the overall positive public opinion regarding the androids, most people were scared and confused about what was happening. If they saw me, a human being marching for android freedom, what would they think? This girl is out of her mind, crazy, brainwashed by the deviants? Or were they hopeful and wishing they could lend their support to the androids' cause too? There would also be many people cursing and damning me for turning my back on my fellow mankind. It was hard not to sympathize with their fear.

Perkins adamantly believed the androids were deceiving us; because they couldn't reproduce or feel love the same way a human could that discredited any feelings the androids may have. The love an android felt had to be a feeling that Perkins could understand in every capacity or it didn't count.

If an android saved his life and forfeited their own in the process, he'd argue they were programmed to do so. He didn't want to even consider he may be wrong. Of course I could be just as wrong and my own emotions could be clouding my judgement, but I listened to both sides and discussed with them both. I wasn't shutting out the voices of the androids. I wasn't making them into "the other" group and dehumanizing them like Perkins was doing. Nor was I doing the same to the people who claimed androids were simply metal.

"His prejudice will be his undoing," Markus spoke, his gaze thoughtful. I startled, wondering if I'd somehow voiced my thoughts aloud. "He treats you like you're the dirt beneath his boot, like you were an android. I can only hope he may listen to us before he open fires."

As if to taunt Markus, a voice rose out of the minefield of men in armor ahead of us on a loudspeaker. "Surrender immediately or we will open fire!"

We kept walking, slow and steady. Calmly and peacefully. Several riot unit vehicles had been parked along the snow banks, near the fence, and even behind Perkins's team. The helicopter above us flew past, trying to get a good shot of us on camera.

"Standby." The man ordered us.

Markus slowed to a stop and I noted the eager, anxious cameramen readying their cameras. Outside of the fence, one riot police personnel had their rifle pointed directly at us. Some of the reporters threw concerned glances over at the guy every now and then.

Snow drifted down in lovely flakes, blushing green in the flush of the streetlights above. Markus drew himself up taller and spoke in a clear, silvery voice. "We don't want confrontation! We are protesting peacefully."

"I repeat: surrender now or we will open fire!"

I'd expected resistance. Perkins and Markus would likely have a shouting discussion until the special agent confirmed whatever action was necessary with his higher-ups. My boss was going to be so pissed with me. The ironic laugh died in my throat at the roar of tires on snow, sleet and road.

Two gigantic riot unit vehicles circled around us to the back of our group, blocking any escape like wolves cornering their prey. With a distinct click, the vehicle's tear gas guns swiveled around smoothly and pointed their barrels at us. I wasn't certain what affect they'd have on an android, but I knew it'd mess me up for a while. Even more than the imposter Connor had done.

I clenched my fists at my sides. This was it. I couldn't fail here.

Connor and Hank were seeking Kamski's help, for what reason, I had no idea. And they'd snuck into the station. Gavin and Chris stood amidst Perkins' team, likely going over every lie I'd said to them, every time I'd evaded any link that pointed at me being a special agent. And yet, they weren't running off and evacuating the city, leaving me to the hands of fate. They were here to see this through and I knew if things got really bad, they'd rush out into a hail of bullets to help me, because that's what friends did.

But even if Markus succeeded in stalling Perkins, or even, somehow, freeing his people from the recall facility, what about the androids in the CyberLife tower? Amanda had rammed home the fact that she saw me as a threat, and that included anyone crazy enough to try and help the androids in any way. What was her plan? What could be deemed so crucial to a corporation so as to risk the law by assassinating a human being?

Markus, stiff and grave, turned his back on the vehicles. His heterochromatic gaze slid to the obstacles ahead of him. He seemed to draw on some inner strength, for he spoke somberly. "There's no turning back now."

Connor, Hank...please be safe.