I love how people were both feeling sorry for Gavin and happy to see him get some comeuppance in the last chapter. And I'm glad I wasn't the only one taking great delight in the game of hide and seek.
We've just broken 200 reviews for this fic…I am seriously overwhelmed by the love you guys are showing. Thank you all, so much.
Keep your suggestions coming, I'm all ears for ideas!
This is the longest instalment yet, but I couldn't resist. I've been looking forward to writing this idea for a long time.
Special thanks for reviews: DyeTheSheep, Roseheir, Xwft, Red 'Allen' Walker, Mayday Maria, xNarielx, KaguyaAmaterasu, JusTiNSaNiTy, lordvaatithewindmage, DemonSkitty, Celestic1234, SheNoob, Minecraft Guardiansaiyan, AnUnorthodoxDecision, inuchara2511 and one Guest.
And now…the revenge that you've all been waiting so desperately for. Markus is going to learn that pranking Connor so much is a bad idea.
Plus, a sneaky cameo from a character I've been dying to include. Enjoy the carnage!
When Connor first started debating how to get some payback on Markus, he toyed with lots of ideas. While he found prank ideas easy to come by, he just couldn't find anything which he was satisfied with. Sure, a few of the ideas would be irritating, others would give the rest of the Jericho quartet great hilarity, but nothing quite felt right. After almost a week of thought, he'd begun to get slightly down-heartened.
It was, ironically enough, thanks to a couple of kids they arrested for targeting an android couple that Connor finally got his inspiration. He finally knew what he's been lacking in all his ideas.
None of them were mean enough.
Thus far, he hadn't really done anything malicious (save for Gavin, but Connor couldn't help the sadistic glee which bubbled through him at inflicting humiliation on the detective). Given that Markus was now three up on him though, Connor was determined to even the score in one go.
Okay, so the first one wasn't really against him directly, but he did still get caught out. The second and third pranks, however, had Connor itching for revenge. Were it not for poor Katie taking sympathy on Hank when he'd been magnetized, things could have ended up very awkward. Even then, it had taken Hank calling Chris round to the house, just to cut the connections to the magnetic plates, for the android to get free – the Jericho crew had conveniently disappeared while Katie had been helping Hank.
Still, his idea was what one might call…morally dubious.
He'd seriously wondered what dark corner of his mind had conjured it until he'd admitted it to Hank one night. His adoptive father's reaction was totally unexpected: he'd almost winded himself laughing so hard. If that hadn't convinced Connor alone, his words certainly did.
"Connor, I might actually piss myself laughing if you pull that off."
So much for it being over the top, then.
Now that he had an idea, he had an even bigger problem…How did he go about executing it?
Connor hadn't exactly been subtle in plotting his revenge, and he even recruited a couple of accomplices. Hank had involved himself without Connor even needing to ask, and the android was glad for his presence. Plotting a prank so ambitious with him had been enormous fun and a great way to spend time together. His second helper came in the form of the fun-loving android who was rapidly becoming his best friend, who couldn't help but notice Connor smirking to himself every so often. When he'd elaborated, Katie had begged to join in.
Their final pair of hands came courtesy of Katie's family. When Connor initially set about his idea, he knew he would almost certainly require Simon's help. This was one time that Connor had been hoping to not involve him, however – for no other reason than Simon was one of Markus' lovers. As much as Connor trusted Simon not to say something, there was no way to ensure that the blonde-haired android didn't make Markus suspicious unintentionally.
So, when Connor asked Katie if she knew of any other androids technologically inclined, she'd had a surprising answer.
"Why don't you ask my brother? He's a hacker with the FBI, so he's among the best. There will be no-one better out there in knowing how to hack an RK series model."
Connor hadn't quite realised just what she meant by that until now. Here he was, meeting Katie in the park under the premise of a playdate between Dust and Sumo, only to be faced with her brother.
Who just so happened to be a very familiar figure.
Katie waved from beside Connor and dashed over to embrace him in a warm hug, the other android replying in kind. Dust and Sumo were chasing each other in the grass a few metres away while Connor and Katie had been going over details of the plan on a bench, but the new company made Connor feel slightly…intimidated?
He was immensely surprised Katie hadn't mentioned that his successor was one of her adopted siblings.
She soon pulled away with a beaming smile and dragged the taller android over, the RK900 eyeing her with faux annoyance. "Connor, this is my brother, Richard. No introductions are necessary the other way, I'm sure," she said giddily.
Richard rolled his eyes at her. "You'd be correct there, although they are needed even less after all your gossiping, Katie," he answered fondly. Katie gasped scandalously and slapped his arm hard, at which Richard chuckled as she tried to hide her blush.
Connor's eyebrow rose. "Is this something I should be worried about?" he asked warily.
The RK900 smirked in reply. "Not at all, this one is just fond of you," he elaborated while nodding towards the female android.
Katie stuck her tongue out at him. "That's because Connor is a sweetheart, and you're an asshole," she shot back. Richard stared at her, mildly exasperated, at which Katie winked towards the pair of them. "Right, you two have fun plotting. I'm going to conveniently vanish for a while."
Connor's eyes widened. "You'd better not…"
She smiled mischievously. "Dust and Sumo need someone to tackle and snuggle with. Enjoy!"
And just like that, she was gone, leaving the two RK models standing there awkwardly.
"I've never seen my sister disappear quite so fast before…" Richard noted, before turning his gaze back on Connor. He saw the wariness in the 800-model's eyes. "You seem nervous."
"Well, I'm a little surprised," Connor explained. "Katie never mentioned that you were her brother."
Richard shrugged. "I don't know why it is such a surprise, honestly. We were both among the army you liberated from within the CyberLife tower; as fellow prototypes, we were stored together. As such, we chose to stay by each other's sides in the days afterwards."
Connor absorbed this knowledge before speaking again. "Katie mentioned that you work for the FBI?"
"Yes. When knowledge of my existence came to light, they were keen to study me. I offered full co-operation in return for employment there. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. From what Katie tells me, you are in need of my skills as a hacker."
Mention of the prank had Connor relaxing somewhat and he smirked. "That I am."
Two hours later saw Richard become a firm addition to the team – along with the two RK models agreeing to stay in touch beyond the execution of their plan.
Now they just had the set the stage.
It took almost three weeks from start-to-finish for the plan to come together. Connor and Hank were now en route to the apartments where the Jericho crew lived, broad smiles on their faces. Inside Connor's pocket sat the key to their whole plan, while Hank was keeping the second half secure in his pocket. The DPD had got a call overnight of more vandalism at the block, to which the pair had been sent out to do some investigating.
None of the Jericho androids knew that Richard and Katie had been responsible for the harmless spray-painting and digging of a few potholes in the street – although to be honest, some of them were closer to pits than potholes. Markus had sounded less that impressed when Connor spoke to him earlier that day, but the leader seemed much calmer now that Connor had arranged for a construction company to resurface the destroyed road and for painters to cover the drawings.
As they pulled to a stop outside, the pair shared one last look before exiting the car. Unsurprisingly, North, Simon and Josh were accompanying Markus, and all the androids gave the duo friendly smiles as they approached. As per their usual greeting, North punched Hank's arm and the older man swiped her shoulder in a slap, the pair glaring at each other (although the matching smirks on their faces dulled the effect somewhat), as the others gave Connor warm handshakes. The exception was the brief hug that Connor and Markus shared, the two smiling at each other.
"Thanks for coming down, you two," North stated as she and Hank broke their staring contest. "We've not the slightest idea what happened here, and we can't even begin to think how the ones responsible managed to get away without anyone seeing them."
Hank crossed his arms as he stared around the vicinity, running through the routine that he and Connor had practiced on the way over. "What sort of damage are we looking at?" he asked as Connor began to scan the now filled potholes on the road.
"Fifteen holes dug up of varying widths and depths," Josh explained, "while there was a lot of graffiti painted on the outside of the building." Connor and Hank both noticed the discarded cans of paint. "Thanks for arranging all the repair work, Connor. The company moved very fast, the were here by 11am and finished only a couple of hours later."
Connor offered a smile. "It's no problem: it helps to know people."
Well, that wasn't exactly a lie…the others didn't need to know that he'd booked the company three days ago in preparation, however. Hank had to fight a grin at Connor's smooth reply.
Markus turned away and stared at the graffiti in annoyance. Connor came up behind him, retrieving his hand from his pocket, and placing it on his upper back in a comforting gesture. "I just don't get it…" Markus lamented. "We keep to ourselves, we don't affect the humans in any way. Why do they keep targeting this place?"
A pang of guilt rang through Connor. Maybe this distraction hadn't been the best of choices…but it was certainly effective in making sure Markus was unaware. He hadn't even considered that other androids were behind the vandalism. He shifted his hand to the back of Markus' neck, being very careful to keep the tiny disc in the centre of his palm steady. Connor could feel the signals echoing through his hand as it spun through the pre-prepared program, looking for Markus' exact encryption frequency. Richard had said it would only take eighteen seconds.
"Humans were always going to take time to accept us, you know that, Markus," he reassured. "The damage is not severe, there will be no evidence of it in several hours."
Markus sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he thought. "I know. It's just…This is hard, sometimes, Connor. I wonder if we'd be better following your example and integrating with humans."
Connor felt the pulse from the device as it successfully broke through Markus' encryption. The android leader abruptly froze in place as Connor began to smirk widely. As he continued to beam and stepped back, the other Jericho androids looked on in confusion at the alarm on Markus' face.
"I wouldn't advise that path, Markus. After all, when you spend a little too much time around humans, you get exposed to some…unusual ideas," Connor chimed back, Hank laughing next to him as the lieutenant fished the device from his own jacket out, handing it to Connor.
"What did you do?" Markus asked worriedly. He couldn't move anything beyond his head.
"Revenge," Connor stated simply as he held up the remote in his hand, interfacing with it and flicking the joystick on top.
The other Jericho androids jumped in surprised as Markus turned in anything but a dignified fashion and started stomping around the area. They all shared incredulous looks as he began to spin on the spot rapidly, before finishing in a dab pose. Markus was horrified as Hank almost doubled over laughing.
It was Simon who twigged first. "Connor, have you hacked into Markus' motor control systems?" he asked in interest.
Connor smiled at him. "Perhaps."
North began to giggle. "No fucking way! How the hell did you manage that?"
"As I said before, North, it helps to know people," the detective grinned back. "Now, I seem to remember you assisting Kara and Alice in dyeing me pink, Markus. I can't help but wonder how you look in neon green?"
Markus stared at Connor with wide eyes as his limbs marched him over to the discarded spray cans. "Connor, no!" Markus shouted, but it was of no use.
Connor directed him to pick up the can and hold it a few inches above and in front of his head. With a delighted smile, Connor turned his attention to his partner. "Fancy some target practice, Hank?"
The older man grinned evilly. "With pleasure, Connor," he answered happily. He too was eager to pay Markus back, remembering his involvement in dyeing his hair blue. Markus watched with wide eyes as Hank pulled out his service weapon, equipped with a silencer to not cause panic around them, and fired at the tin.
It exploded in a shower of green paint, covering Markus in a vibrant splatter all over his face, shoulders and part of his torso.
North doubled over laughing while Simon looked away, biting his lip to stop from chuckling. Josh was smiling broadly. Hank's grin grew. "Hey, came out pretty well. Think I could claim this as modern art?" he suggested.
Connor winked at him. "I think you need another colour or two," he suggested.
Markus' eyes widened even more as he realised there were another four cans left. Hank smiled at the expression. "Fancy doing the honours?" Connor's smile was downright sinister as he directed Markus to pick up the remaining paints, positioning them at various locations around him. Hank shot a tin of candy floss pink at Markus' right, while Connor pierced another filled with fluorescent yellow on Markus' left. The final two were held behind and in front of Markus at right angles. Connor had him turn 90 degrees so that the pair could shoot them at the same time, magenta and sky blue completing the ensemble.
By this point, North and Simon were unable to do anything other than lean on each other in glee and hilarity, while Josh was laughing loudly. Markus' face was the epitome of displeasure, and Connor smirked at seeing the glare he was subjected to.
If Markus thought that was bad, the worst was yet to come.
The android looked over at the others in mock contemplation. "So, does anyone else want to see the grand finale?" he asked.
Simon stifled his sniggers briefly at the idea. "There's more?" he wheezed.
Connor smiled at him. "Well, I didn't have the road torn up just as a distraction."
Markus stared at Connor in utter betrayal as the other RK model had him march towards one of the potholes: all of which were now filled with wet cement. "Connor, no!"
The detective raised an eyebrow at the others. "Opinions?" he asked while keeping one of Markus' legs aloft over the pit.
North's eyes lit in delight. "Yes! Do it, Connor!"
Hank beamed. "You know I ain't going to say no."
Josh bit his lip and avoided Markus' glare. "I'll abstain, I think."
Simon's face morphed into mischief and he winked at Connor. "No objections here."
"Traitors!" Markus whined in disbelief, and he screamed in frustration as Connor flicked the joystick and made him step into the mixture. He instantly sank down, everyone else laughing as he came to a stop midway up his thighs. The cement was ice cold and Markus groaned at the feeling. "Seriously, Connor?!"
Connor winked at him. "We're even," he stated smugly, holding the remote out to North. She took it in surprise. "Don't worry, I've arranged for replacement legs to be delivered in the next few hours."
Markus stared at him in disbelief. "You're going to leave me here?!"
"You're the one who left me for several hours in that magnetized chair, I'm just following your example," he answered with a raised eyebrow before his smirk turned knowing. "Besides, I know this isn't the first time you've had to get replacement limbs after a mishap."
The android leader stared at his lovers in betrayal. "You told him that?!"
North shrugged as she bit her lip to stop giggling. "It slipped out?" she offered. She then turned to Connor in confusion. "Okay, so why give me the remote?"
Connor smiled. "Because now you've got the option as to whether to free Markus or not. It's up to you."
She pretended to think about it before turning to smirk at Simon. "Grab us some chairs, Simon. Let's watch Markus suffer."
The android leader roared in annoyance. "I hate all of you!"
Hank elbowed Connor as he fought to stop from falling over laughing. "Damn, you really didn't hold back, son. Stepping things up, are we?"
Connor regarded him with a quirked edge to his mouth. "Take note, Hank. This is what I'm capable of if pushed."
It was equal parts threat and promise.