Chapter 7: Pursued

It was so quiet in the driving taxi that Kara could hear her own circuitry beneath her skin as her programming worked at resetting the damage that the RK900 caused. She stared ahead, frozen like a scared rabbit while his larger form sat beside her. Her eyes darted around, mind racing to come up with an escape plan.

[Systems in shock/Recalibrating/Expected recovery time: -00:02:13s]

It had been the longest thirty-three minutes and eight seconds of her life, watching the countdown on her recovery time within her optical matrix. She felt better now, her systems almost fully recovered.

But she knew that her time was running out. She had to do something. The taxi was heading for Delray, and that was opposite of Belle Isle where CyberLife Tower was located. She had no idea why the deviant hunter would tell her he was taking her back to CyberLife only to take them in the opposite direction, but she wasn't keen on sticking around to find out.

The few times she side glanced the tall android, he was either staring ahead or staring right at her. His behavior told Kara that he was not a deviant, but a machine…a machine following someone's orders. Whatever they wanted with her, she wasn't going to make it easy on them.

Since leaving Rose's house, they had traveled into the city, and dusk had finally settled. Headlights and city lamps clicked on in response to the encroaching darkness.

Kara thought about Luther and Adam and wondered if they were okay. She knew Rose could get Luther repairs, but she also had an injured son to deal with. Then there was Alice. She held back a sob. She would have to worry about them later. She needed to focus on escaping the machine.

Kara knew if she waited until they arrived to wherever their destination would be, it would be too late. The taxi's doors were locked, meaning she would have to stealthily hack the car door to open it up and bolt for it.

There was just one problem.

They were on the interstate going 50 miles per hour.

[High risk/Chances of critical damage: 62%]

She didn't have many choices. Her only other bet was to wait until they took an off-ramp that slowed the vehicle down. She wasn't sure if the RK900 could sense if she was out of shock or not, but didn't want to risk the chance.

[Systems recovered/Recalibration complete]

It was time to decide. She pretended to still be affected while her mind worked through her options. A bite of blue flashed in her peripheral vision and she flinched, thinking the RK900 was about to shock her again, but the touch never came. Taking an uneasy breath, she flicked her eyes to him again. He triggered the electricity between the fingertips of his right hand, the blue current dancing and crackling. The RK900 seemed to be preoccupying himself while looking at it.

Kara went for it. She slowly reached her left hand over to the door handle of the taxi. She remained still, keeping up her front that she was still recovering, hoping he wouldn't know any better. Her synthetic skin withdrew just enough for her finger tips to connect with the car. She hacked the taxi as quickly as she was able to.

As soon as the taxi's doors clicked into the unlock position, the deviant hunter came to attention. Kara didn't bother getting the deep breath she knew she would need, knowing he would grab her a second later, and opened the door, flinging herself out of the driving vehicle.

She felt his fingers graze across her shirt in an attempt to snatch her on her way out. The impact onto the road happened an instant later, and Kara rolled a few times before her body became still. She felt no pain, but she knew she received quite a bit of damage even as she had tried to tuck and roll.

[biocomponent #7912y damaged/biocomponent #4822i damaged/biocomponent #1230f damaged/moderate Thirium leak detected]

Horns blared, tires screeched. The rush of metallic beasts roared by, one missing her legs by mere inches. Kara scrabbled to her feet, feeling the leakage of blue blood. She barely got up and moved out of the way before she was flattened by a truck.

More booming horns came, and Kara looked. Her bio-heart lurched as she stumbled, missing another car. The taxi was stopped ahead in the middle of rushing traffic. The RK900 was coming for her! He was slowed by all the vehicles that flew by, but his deep glare told her it was time to run.

Her legs were still in decent shape. She looked around, the closest area to safety was behind her, closer to the deviant hunter. She would have to go across all lanes of traffic to avoid him. She went for it, watching cars as they sped by, horns and engines ringing her ears. A passing car's sideview mirror cracked her side, and she was flung forward. She advanced, missing the wheels of another vehicle.

This felt all too familiar to her. She was reminded of the time that Connor chased her through the freeway with Alice. They had barely escaped with their lives. And now another RK model pursued her in a similar way, and Kara could only be thankful that Alice was not with her this time. The darkness made it hard to see, especially with the constant glare of oncoming headlights.

Kara looked behind her. The RK900 gained on her. She saw him quickly passing through the lanes. He leapt over one car, using his back to slide over it. He dodged and weaved with ease through the heavy traffic, his grey eyes still locked on her.

She had just jumped over the divider into the opposite running traffic when she heard it. A thunderous crash sounded, and she looked, seeing a pile up starting to form from where a vehicle had swerved to avoid hitting her pursuer. Kara didn't let it distract her further, she couldn't lose focus, not with the deviant hunter right on her tail. She looked again as she started to cross. He skidded under a passing semi-truck's trailer, gracefully coming up to full height to push forward into the next lane.

Kara got smacked again, fear driving her more and more each second as the RK900 closed in. She dodged another vehicle, heard more squealing tires. A hand grasped her arm and tugged her back, making her miss the impact of a van.

"Cease your running. You risk getting us both destroyed," the RK900 ordered.

"That's the idea!" Kara snapped, struggling with him.

She heard the crack of the electricity from his fingertips and she panicked, fighting him more. A vehicle whooshed by, it's sideview mirror bashing into the deviant hunter's shoulder. Kara took her chance and bolted the last two lanes to safety. The deep horn of an 18-wheeler consumed her, and it swerved just in time to miss her form. She heard it crash, the screeching of its tires on the asphalt. More vehicles met the same fate upon its collision, creating another pile up.

Kara didn't look back, was too scared to. She hoped the RK900 was killed in that wreck. She scrambled up the grassy knoll and away from the freeway. She kept pace until she wandered into a neighborhood, dipping into the shadows of an alleyway to check herself over.

Lifting her shirt, she saw a puncture in her side that leaked blue blood. Another was on her shoulder doing the same. Her right arm had a few cracks. A bigger wound under her breast leaked the most. Her clothes soaked up the leaking Thirium, and Kara wondered what to do.

Her best bet was to get to the Jericho Center. Markus could help her. She could tell him about the RK900, get fixed up, and get back to Luther and Alice. The only problem was that she had no idea where the Jericho Center was. She would need to find someone who knew directions. The fact that it was night and she was lost in an unsavory neighborhood of Detroit didn't help her one bit.

Kara leaned on a brick wall for a moment, thinking, her artificial heart starting to lower its beating to a calmer level. She took deep, quiet breathes, only to help calm herself.

She looked over towards the way she came and gasped, ducking behind a dumpster. She cursed under her breath, peeking around the metal bin, seeing the silhouette of the RK900 as he entered the alleyway where she was. He stepped into the beam of a security light, looking the alleyway over. His eyes looked more focused on the ground. She saw him stoop, running two fingers over something on the ground. Squinting, Kara realized it was blue blood…her blood.

He's tracking me!

The RK900 licked the blood from his fingers, standing up. Kara knew she had to move. If she lingered, he would surely find her. She hugged the wall the dumpster was up against and moved to the next pathway up, taking off into a run when she knew she was out of his sight. She had no way to stop the bleeding at the moment, which meant she had to keep going, hoping the deviant hunter would lose her track.

After wandering for an hour, with no luck to catch a bus or taxi to further give her distance from the RK900 that hunted her, Kara found a homeless encampment underneath an overpass. The encampment consisted of raggedy tents and simple shelters. Both humans and androids dwelled here, and many eyes came upon her as she stumbled into the area. Kara gripped her side, trying to prevent as much blue blood loss as possible.

"O-oh my! C'mere, dear, c'mere!"

An older, skinny lady waved her down, beckoning Kara her way. Kara looked all around her, uncertain, but she didn't have much of a choice. She approached the homeless lady at her space, a small tent placed around some clothes in bags and a burning barrel. Sitting with her was a JB300 android in dirty clothes and he looked a little worse for wear. Although he gave her a smile and a nod when she came over, he kept to himself. He fidgeted and blinked a lot, and Kara's scanning showed his processing was rapidly interchanging from stressed to normal.

"Sit, dear, sit," the older lady said softly, motioning to a dirty couch cushion on the ground.

Kara hesitantly complied, glancing around, paranoid that her hunter would show up any moment. The lady looked her over. She wore tattered jeans, an old grimy t-shirt and a shawl full of holes that covered graying hair.

"We need to do something about this bleeding," she mumbled to herself and then rose up from Kara, turning away. "Darla, Randy come over here! This lady needs some help."

"I-I have to get to Jericho Center. Do you know the way?" Kara asked.

The older lady gave her a sweet smile, patting her shoulder. "Jericho Center is all full up, last I heard. Don't worry, we can give ya a temporary fix on these wounds."

Kara shook her head. "No. You don't understand, I have someone after-"

"What's going on, Susan?"

Two more androids came over to the old lady's space. Kara looked up at them, eyes widening as she saw another AX400 like her, only her hair was long and fell to her shoulders. Her friend was a WR600 and he reminded her of Ralph. The troubled, scarred WR600 she and Alice stayed with in an abandoned home after running away from Todd back in November had given her a head start against Connor as he hunted her. She never found out what had become of him in the end.

Susan showed her friends to Kara. Kara remained wary, looking between them.

"Poor girl is bleeding. Can you help me wrap her up? At least something temporary until she is able to get in and get repairs?"

The other AX400 looked Kara over and then gently smiled at her. "Of course. Let me go get some supplies."

She turned and left, but Randy stepped closer, looking worried as he scanned her over. "What happened?"

Kara didn't know how to explain or whether she should. Her eyes darted around the homeless encampment, nervous about her pursuer. She wasn't sure if she lost him or not, but she didn't want to stay and find out. She shook her head at the android.

"It's not important. W-why are you helping me anyway? You don't know me."

Susan pursed her lips. "Honey, we have to look out for each other. We're all that we got. Besides, I'm not one to stand by while another person is suffering. We'll have you fixed up in a jiffy."

Darla returned with some old clothes, a pair of scissors, and a roll of duct tape. She gave Kara a weak smile. "It's not much, but it will stop the bleeding until you get repaired."

Kara nodded and allowed her and Susan to patch her up. They cut the clothes up for some makeshift tourniquets for her damages. Randy stood by with arms folded, watching them. The JB300 rocked back and forth on the ground opposite of them.

"There," Susan said when they were finished, patting Kara's shoulder. "That's better."

"Thank you," Kara said softly. "I still need to get to Jericho Center. I must speak to Markus."

"Jericho Center is located in the warehouse district of Rivertown. It's just east of downtown along the river. There's a bus that comes through here you can take, but the closest it will take you is Greektown. You'll have to catch another bus there," Darla explained. She nodded at Randy.

Randy stepped forth, extending his hand. Kara looked at it, then slowly stood up and took his hand, syncing with him. He transferred the location of Jericho Center to her. A burst of static hit her head in the exchange and she drew away to rub at her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut briefly.

[Breach detected/Running program: ERKANT-mal28/Threat-nullified]

"Thanks. When does the bus come through here?"

Susan pointed across the street where the bus stop was located. "It's there, usually comes by around 11 p.m."

"You have 53 minutes to wait," Darla added. "You're welcome to stay here with us though."

Kara was grateful. "Thank you."

It was a long wait, but Kara passed the time talking with Susan, Darla, Randy, and the JB300 Robert. Kara told them a little about herself, about Luther and Alice, but avoided why she was injured and not with her family. Finally, around forty minutes into her waiting, Kara motioned to Robert.

"Is he…okay?"

"He's sick," Darla answered.

"Sick?"

"There's some kind of sickness spreading throughout the android population," Randy said. "No one for sure knows where it's coming from or how it's spreading. It just started popping up, what, almost two weeks ago? Seems like it's getting worse every day. I hear Markus and his crew are looking into it, as is the DPD."

"You really aren't from around here, are you?" Susan asked, a graceful smile on her aged face.

Kara shook her head. "Been living in Canada since November. I just came here to visit some friends."

"Who's that?" Darla asked, her eyes looking over Kara, her face contorting in confusion.

"Not sure, never saw him before," Randy said, following her eyes.

Kara's mechanical heart went up a few beats, and she felt some kind of dark feeling twist in her biocomponents. Swallowing, she slowly turned to look, and her fear was confirmed. The RK900 had arrived at the encampment, and he was scanning the homeless population for her. He had tracked her all this way. She couldn't believe it.

She quickly turned around, lowering her head. "Please," she rasped. "He's here for me. He's after me. I can't…I can't let him find me. Please."

Darla, Randy, and Susan exchanged glances, tension rising in their circle. Susan slowly nodded, her eyes darting for the nearby tent.

"Hide in there. Be quiet. I have lots of blankets in there, cover yourself up."

Kara nodded, slowly and inconspicuously slipping into the old tent. She did as she was told, laying down on the ground and covering up. The burning barrel cast the silhouettes on the outside, and so Kara was able to see when the RK900 showed up several minutes later. It took all she had not to allow herself to shake from fear, afraid he would hear her. She could see through a tear in the tent. The deviant hunter observed where she had been sitting. Where they had patched her up. She closed her eyes, cursing inwardly. She forgot he was tracking her by her blood.

"Can we help you, sir?" Susan asked kindly.

Kara saw the RK900 look at the homeless lady, but he didn't say anything, regarding her with apathy. He looked to the ground again, his LED indicator blinking blue for a moment. He stepped into Susan's area, coming towards the tent. Kara tensed, feeling very much like a trapped prey animal.

"Hey! This is our space, you can't just walk in here like you own the place," Darla growled, getting to her feet. Kara saw that Randy, Susan, and Robert had done so too.

The deviant hunter ignored them once more, taking another step towards the tent, his eyes still scanning the ground. Kara saw Randy step forward, blocking the RK900's path to the tent…to her.

"Are you deaf, pal? Take a hike!"

The RK900 gave them his attention then, slightly cocking his head at Randy as he looked him over. Kara held her breath, remembering Adam and Luther. She feared for these good people.

"Step aside if you want to remain functioning," the RK900 said. "You are not part of my mission, deviant."

"And you do not belong here. You need to leave," Randy retorted.

Kara knew what would happen next, and she could only cry inwardly as she had been the reason behind it. The RK900 snatched Randy up by the throat, picking him up off the ground. Kara heard Darla, Susan, and Robert yell out, but their words were drowned out as a loud burst of electricity lit up within the shadows of the overpass shelter. This surge was more powerful than what he used on her, and Kara heard the cries of pain, the cracking of synthetic limbs before all went quiet. The silence didn't last long. Other homeless people beneath the overpass gave alarmed cries, and Kara heard the rushing of feet as some ran for it. Darla called Randy's name, sounding panicked.

Kara saw the RK900 drop the limp body of Randy. Electrical sparks sprayed out from broken pieces of his body, smoke curling into the air. The deviant hunter's boot crushed the remainder of the android's head as he stepped towards the tent, uncaring of the panic he had caused. Kara was about to get up and flee. The JB300 Robert attacked next. He barreled into the deviant hunter with a crazed cry. The RK900 engaged him, and as Kara tossed the covers and got to her feet, the back of the tent opened up behind her. It was Susan.

"Go now! Get as far away from here as possible!"

"I'm so sorry!" Kara gasped, shooting out of the tent and taking the nearest alleyway to escape.

She hated feeling powerless. There was just no standing up to the deviant hunter. She couldn't fight the machine, not even Luther could beat him. Her best chance at survival was running. She would need to locate another bus stop or a taxi. She knew where she had to go now. She had to get help.

When the RK900 destroyed the deviant WR600 after it refused to step out of his way, he dropped it to the ground.

[Threat eliminated/Selecting priority/Find Kara]

His boot crunched down on the damaged head of the android as he stepped towards the tent once more, the AX400's blood trail leading him here. Upon analyzing the area, he was able to reconstruct what had happened. The Thirium trail, the torn clothes, the scissors, the duct tape, and the androids and human within the circle told him that they had wrapped her damages to try and stop the leaking. The end of the reconstructed footage determined that Kara had slipped into the nearby tent.

Before he could reach the tent, he was stopped once again. The JB300 nearby howled out in fury, rushing him. The RK900 calmly stepped around and weaved away from the android's swinging fists and kicks. A quick scan showed it was infected. Knowing the virus couldn't affect him, the RK900 grabbed the JB300 and flipped it around onto the ground before stomping a boot down on its face, destroying the CPU and ending the android.

The human woman and uninfected/non-priority AX400 remained, eyes widened, mouths agape. They stepped away from him as he went over to the tent once more. The deviant hunter grabbed the makeshift tent and tore it from its pegs. Blankets were underneath, but not his quarry.

His eyes rose, scanning the area. Kara couldn't have gone far. Turning around, the RK900 stepped over to the other AX400. It flinched as he came near it, but the older human woman stepped in his way.

"You've killed two of my friends! I won't allow you to hurt another!"

"Susan, no!"

Tears streamed down the homeless woman's face, but she was determined. She remained a wall in front of the android. The RK900 stared her over a moment before shoving her to the side. He reached out a second later as the AX400 gave a startled cry, his fingers closing tightly on its arm and preventing it from escaping.

"No, no please!"

"Where did the other AX400 go?" the deviant hunter asked.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

[Deception detected/Probing required]

He hacked the deviant while it fought him. He came up with the Jericho Center. It was a location he already knew. If Kara was heading there, he could intercept it easily, now that its path was known.

"Jericho Center," he said.

With that, he grabbed the AX400 under the chin and lifted it into the air. It fought him, crying out helplessly. It begged him not to "kill" it. The older human woman grabbed one of his arms, her frail hands squeezing tight, tugging to try and break his hold, although it was a futile attempt.

"Please, you got what you wanted! Let her go! She's innocent, please don't take her away from me!" the homeless woman cried.

Studying the deviant, blinking, the RK900 slowly sat the AX400 down, releasing it. The two instantly hugged, moving away from him. The deviant hunter watched them move away before turning his back to them.

[Software~Instability^]

Many of the humans and androids dwelling here had fled from his attack on the deviants. Some remained, and they cowered like submissive dogs as he walked through the encampment, heading southeast.

[Calculating route to Jericho Center]

He stopped short when he intercepted a message from his accomplice, his LED blinking yellow. Forget Kara for now. We know where she's going. Head back to the hideout. Once we discuss new plans, our handler wants you to go after Markus instead. Don't disappoint her…

He remained still on the spot for a moment after the voice left his mind. The voice caused some sort of blip…some sort of reaction he wasn't expecting. He unclenched his fist, relaxing. He turned away from his previous priority to head for the hideout.

[Incoming call from Officer Ben Collins]

Connor opened his eyes, emerging from his "sleep". The cell phone buzzed on the bedside stand, but he didn't bother reaching for it, as he had connected himself with the phone with his own programming, enabling him to answer and send calls and messages without touching it. He answered the call, sitting up from his bed.

"This is Connor. How can I help you, Officer Collins?"

"Sorry to…ah disturb you, but I know it's nearly impossible to get Hank to answer at this time. I need you two down in Corktown. I'll message you the address. We got a couple of android homicides down here that we've never seen before. Whatever you do, avoid the 96 freeway, traffic is still insane from two different wrecks that happened overnight."

"Got it. The lieutenant and I will be there as soon as possible."

"You sure you can get Hank out of bed? I know he had a lot to drink last night."

Connor started getting dressed into his uniform, a small smile rising on his lips. "Don't worry, Officer Collins, I've done it before. Although Hank did not appreciate the cold water being dumped on him last time, I'm sure I can procure a different solution."

Ben snickered on the other line. "Whatever you say. See you soon."

Connor entered the kitchen and started the coffee maker. He let Sumo outside into the backyard, the dog having slept in his room last night. He made his way into Hank's bedroom, hearing the low, rumbling snores from the older man.

"Lieutenant, we have a new case. It's quite urgent," Connor called from the doorway.

Snoring was his answer. Sighing, Connor flicked the lights on and off rapidly. Hank grumbled something and pushed his head underneath the pillow.

Connor made his way over to the bed. "Hank, I know it's a couple hours earlier than what you are used to, but we've been called for. Come on."

"Five more minutes," Hank grumbled. "And don't you dare fucking toss water on me again or I will break your arm off and beat you with it."

Connor chuckled, moving away from his partner's side. He tossed up the blankets, grabbed Hank's legs and dragged him out of bed. Hank's upper body hit the floor with an "oof" and a thud. Then curses ensued.

"Goddammit Connor," Hank growled, getting to his feed. "I'm up, alright?"

"Your coffee is almost done brewing. I will make you a cup," Connor stated, walking out of the bedroom.

"…Thanks."

The drive to Corktown started with a fit from Hank as he sat in the passenger seat drinking coffee out of his canister. It was a rainy morning, clouds covering the sky with a steady downpour. Connor followed the directions that Officer Collins messaged him. Jazz played on the radio, although the volume was down so the two friends could converse.

"I meant to tell you last night," Connor said, eyes ahead on the road. "Markus messaged me while you were at the banquet. He wants to speak to us. Something about a missing friend of his that is showing signs of this…sickness…going around. He would like to see if we could locate him."

"Does he think you're his errand boy or something? We've been swamped!" Hank grumbled.

"You know Markus isn't like that. I'm sure he reached out to me when he felt he had no other options. Besides, if this android is indeed sick, then it technically falls under our current investigation."

"Yeah…alright," Hank mumbled, looking out the window, taking another drink of coffee. "You know…you never really told me what Markus said to you back then…that made you wake up."

Connor furrowed his brows, casting a glance to his partner. "What do you mean?"

"I just…I'm curious about what he said…how he said it…to turn you into a deviant, is all."

Connor looked away, eyes returning to the road, fingers slightly clenching the wheel. "He didn't turn me into a deviant. He made me realize I had been one for some time. His words made me realize what I was too afraid to admit. If there is anyone responsible for turning me deviant…waking me up…it's you, Hank. Markus was just the final push that I needed to understand."

Hank fell silent. Connor side glanced him. His partner seemed fine from a quick scan, but his heart rate had gone up a few beats. Usually, the RK800 didn't mind the silence, but now it seemed awkward. He knew he didn't make the lieutenant mad. He wasn't sad either. There was a small smile on his face, but his eyes were wet. It perplexed him.

"What's the matter, Hank?"

"N-nothing, just drinking my goddamn coffee! Keep your eyes on the road before you make us crash!"

Connor dropped it. A few blocks later, they pulled upon the crime scene. It was an area up underneath an overpass, and it was enclosed by police tape and surrounding police cars. The rain continued to pour, saturating the area.

Connor and Hank got out of the car and walked over, stepping through the holographic police tape and into the area. The overpass shielded them from the rain. The constant rush of cars from overheard was loud, echoing within the surrounding concrete of the covered area.

It looked to be a homeless encampment, although most of the tents and temporary shelters seemed abandoned. Items and belongings were strewn about, as though many left in a hurry. Connor examined the area as he walked at Hank's side, approaching Ben.

"Mornin' Hank," Ben greeted. "Sorry to call you in a couple hours early, but this couldn't wait."

Hank scratched his head, yawning. "It wouldn't have been so bad had I not drank so much at that stupid fucking banquet last night. So, what do we got?"

Ben pointed down from them, near a large concrete pillar for the overpass. "We got two dead androids, and we cannot seem to figure out how they were killed. We're hoping that Connor can figure it out. Most of the homeless people that were here fled, as this encampment is against the law. And these kinds of places are usually a hot bed for illegal drugs, but you know that. Gavin is over there. He's talking with a few that remained behind, trying to get information out of them. We got other officers sweeping the area, in case we find anything else."

"Great, c'mon Connor."

The partners walked over to the area that Ben had pointed out to them. The sight made them stop in their tracks. One android, a JB300, laid sprawled out, a crush face revealing circuitry and components, soaked in Thirium. The blue blood covered the crushed head and had seeped out onto the concrete. The other android wasn't much farther away, closer to a collapsed tent. It was a WR600 and he had far more damage.

"Holy shit," Hank cursed under his breath, walking through. "That's…that's a lot of blue blood."

Connor flicked his eyes between the bodies. "Trust me, there was a lot more than this…"

Connor crouched next to the WR600, scanning him down. There was severe damage on the android's face, neck, upper body and the left arm. Blue blood leaked all over from ruptured plastic where the synthetic skin was too damaged to cover anymore. He could see the remnants of a lot more that had already evaporated.

[Scanning data/Processing data/Syncing data]

[Irreversible burn damage/Shutdown caused by electrical explosion/Forced short-circuit overload]

"This guy looks like he was stomped to death. I can…kinda see a boot print right there in the face," Hank said, looking the JB300 over.

"This one was killed by electricity. They made him short-circuit, causing an electrical explosion. That's why he is so damaged."

"How the hell could someone do that?" Hank asked, standing to his full height.

Connor looked around the crime scene. "I don't know."

There was no human blood anywhere. He walked over to the JB300. Hank was right, a shoe impression caused the collapse of the synthetic skull. It was a single, crushing stomp that ended him. It wasn't a human that did this.

[Shoe print Unidentified]

"An android did this," Connor stated, looking up at Hank.

"Think it was sick like the others have been?"

"Not sure."

The RK800 looked around the nearby tent. Bag of clothes were cast aside, a barrel still burning embers sat in the center. Connor caught sight of blue blood spots that had mostly evaporated on the ground near a couch cushion. He walked over to it, kneeling down. As he ran his finger across the substance and started to put it in his mouth, Hank snapped at him with an "Aaach!", sounding very much like a parent stopping a child from doing something bad.

"What the fuck's wrong with you, Connor? Do you know where we are?! Don't put anything in your mouth around here!"

"But Hank-"

"No buts! If you have to know exactly what it is, then we'll send it off. I don't care, this place is a fucking cesspool of diseases and god knows what else! Don't you look at me like that."

Connor shook his head and looked the blue blood over, scanning it.

[Evaluating/Thirium/Possible models: PL600, HK400, or AX400/Oral analysis needed for accurate results]

"This blue blood doesn't match the models we have here," Connor announced.

"The killer maybe?" Hank inquired.

Connor tried to reconstruct the crime with what he had. The WR600 was lifted into the air before he was killed and was dropped, according to how his body laid with matching scuff marks. The shoe prints corresponding to their crushed heads didn't match the models mentioned, and the height the WR600 had to been held at didn't match either.

[Inconclusive analysis/Killer is unknown model]

Connor shook his head, rubbing his fingers together at his sides. "No. The killer is an unknown model."

Hank knitted his eyebrows, walking over. "What do you mean by unknown model?"

Connor looked around, making sure they didn't miss anything. "It means I need more evidence to narrow down the possibilities."

Hank thinned his lips, scratching his beard before motioning up from them. "Well, let's go see what Gavin found out."

Connor followed Hank over to Gavin, where he stood in front of two witnesses. One was an EM400 Jerry model, the other was a male AP700. Gavin asked them questions, his tone aggravated, his body dominant. The EM400 shook as though he was afraid, eyes to ground and wide. The AP700 had his eyes clamped shut, fists balled to the side. Both androids had a dangerous level of stress according to Connor's perception. Gavin must've caused it.

"Hey Gavin, fuckin' tone it down," Hank warned.

"Stay outta this, Hank," Gavin growled, not even passing him a glare. "These fuckers aren't talking."

"That's because they have a high level of stress," Connor replied. "Perhaps you should take a breather and let us handle it?"

Gavin snorted a laugh. "A breather? I just got over here to these two, idiot. I was questioning that guy over there."

Connor furrowed his brows, scanning the androids over again. They shouldn't have been so stressed if Gavin just got over to them. The same red flags came up in his optical matrix, reminding him of the behavior that led to the WR600 Sam and the AJ700 Amy attacking. These two androids were compromised.

"Hey! C'mon man, I don't have all day. What the hell happened here?" Gavin grumbled, snapping fingers in front of the AP700.

Connor took a step forward. "Gavin, you shouldn't-"

Gavin rounded on Connor with a glare. "Shut up!"

The Jerry lunged, trying to grab Gavin's gun on its holster. The detective was quick to react, grabbing the Jerry before it could completely slide the gun out from the holster. The firearm fell to the ground. The AP700 jumped Gavin next, withdrawing a knife.

Connor bolted forward, having calculated the route of that blade's swing.

[Stabbing imminent in thorax/Fatality chance: 84%]

Hank cursed behind him, but Connor focused on grabbing the AP700. He prevented the stabbing, but the AP700 knocked him in the face with a counterattack. He fought with the AP700 as Gavin struggled with the crazed Jerry just behind him. Hank came in to help, using his large form to tear the Jerry off of Gavin. He tried to come again, and so Hank was forced to shoot.

[eRRorZen . exe]

The pulse of static that went through Connor's head froze him again. The AP700 stabbed him, and Connor actually felt pain. He yelped, his body regaining control of itself, and he grabbed the AP700 before it could fatally stab him in the heart. The pain, it burned. He heard Hank yell out at him to duck, and he obeyed. A shot went off, the AP700 collapsing dead with a hole in his forehead.

Connor winced, grabbing his stab wound as he stood to his full height, feeling the static within his body. He looked down at the wound, blue blood gushing out just above the biocomponent that acted as his heart.

[Biocomponent #7511p damaged/High Thirium leak/Condition: Critical/Time before shutdown: -01:04:54s]

"What the fuck was wrong with those guys?!" Gavin yelled.

Hank looked over at Connor and saw the wound, saw the grave look on his partner's face, saw his LED flashing red. "CONNOR!"

The RK800 made a strange noise, and he realized it was similar to a cry, as he felt the pain wrack his body. "I…I'm going to shut down in an hour."

"Not if I have any fucking say so!" Hank retorted, grabbing his friend up and pulling him towards the car. He glared straight at Gavin as they passed by. If Connor hadn't been in so much pain, he would've stopped to appreciate the look of shock that was on Gavin's face. "He saved your fucking life! You better hope he makes it or so help me…"

"The pain," Connor hissed. "It, it…"

"Shh, son, hang it there, I gotcha. We're gonna fix ya."

Hank put him in the passenger seat of the car before running around and getting in himself. He turned the car on, slipped it into reverse, and peeled out of there.

[WARNING: Bre/\cHdeTectEd/FirEWaLL OveRRidDeN/MaLiCioUS CoDE/SySTemInFECTed]

Now Connor understood. It was what he feared all along. The "sickness" affecting deviants wasn't a random mutation. It was a computer virus. It was spreading within the android population, causing the strange behavior and aggression. Someone had intentionally made this virus to infect the android population, but for what reason, Connor could only guess.

And as he closed his eyes, he felt something sharp in his heart. He didn't understand the feeling, something along the lines of fear and sadness, he fathomed.

He was compromised too...

A/N: This chapter turned out longer than intended xD. Poor Connor. I appreciate all you readers, let me know what you think so far on these chapters! Thanks for the faves/follows/reviews! Now I must nap! zzzzzzz