OOC: Thanks Ghost of the Dawn! I do have a clear ending in mind so I should be able to finish this without any problems 😊

Hank and Connor jumped out of the car. "I called the fire department! They're three minutes away!"

Connor did a scan. Most of the androids had already evacuated and were on the front lawn, but…."There are still androids inside! I can get them out!"

Hank nodded. "Go!"

Connor tapped his LED and deactivated his synthetic skin, along with the pain receptors with them. In this case it would have been more of a hinderance than a help. Even still he could still feel the heat as he broke through the front door.

Burn him up! Burn him up! Burn him up! The memory came back to haunt him. He ignored it as he ran to the kitchen and picked up a child who had passed out from smoke ventilation. He ran back through the front door and passed her into Hank's arms.

"I got her! Go!" Hank said.

Connor repeated the process three more times, rescuing three other androids. After the third time, he could hear sirens. The house was becoming more unstable. He did a quick scan.

BASEMENT…CLEAR.

KITCHEN….CLEAR.

LIVING ROOM….CLEAR.

FIRST FLOOR CLEAR.

SECOND FLOOR SCAN UNDERWAY.

ANDROID LIFE DETECTED IN ROOM 3B.

Connor ran up the unstable steps to the dorm room, kicked open the door and paused in horror at what he saw.

Lana was laying on the ground, covered in horrific burns. He did another scan, but there was no one else in the building. She was the last. He ran to her side, gripping her hand. "Lana!" he shouted.

She weakly opened her eyes. "RK…" she whispered with the familiar mechanical distortion. "You're alive…"

"Hold on for me," he said. "Please." He briefly protected her body as a burning piece of wood landed on their back. He scanned her body for damage.

RESPIRATORY BIOCOMPONENT 581 and 582…damaged.

THIRIUM PUMP….damaged.

IMMINENT SHUTDOWN IN THREE MINUTES, THIRTY-ONE SECONDS.

"I'm going to shut down. I know it," Lana said gently. "The problem with internal scans…is that you just know." She coughed. "RK…will you take me to the garden? One last time?"

Connor hesitated, and nodded.

Hank was about to speak as Connor walked out the front door with Lana in his arms, but one look on the android's face told the veteran detective everything he needed to know. Instead he followed Connor at a respectful distance away as he entered the garden with her.

"There's a human behind you," Lana whispered.

"I know," Connor said as he turned on his synthetic skin again. "He's a friend."

She smiled at him as he laid her down on a bench. "You're not afraid anymore. I'm proud of you."

Connor caressed her head. "Lana, where is David? I didn't see him."

Lana frowned. "I found out what he did to you. We were arguing. He stormed off. I…didn't believe him anymore. I called Markus and told him I wanted us to meet…but I think he did this. It's my fault."

"No," Connor said, gripping her hand tightly. Tears ran down his face. "It's not. I promise."

SHUTDOWN IN FIVE…FOUR…THREE

"It's okay, RK." Lana smiled at him. "I'm not afraid of death. There is never anything to fear." Her eyes closed.

SHUTDOWN COMPLETE.

"Kid…I'm so sorry," Hank said.

Connor gripped her hand, his head bowed. "Why is this happening, Hank?" He sobbed. "I remember what happened that night seven months ago. You were shot! I saw you fall…I couldn't connect to anyone. I had to run for the radio to help you. But before that could happen, they grabbed me." More tears ran down his face. "They grabbed me, and they killed me. They killed me, Hank! She was my friend…and now she's gone too!"

"It's okay, son," Hank said putting a hand on his shoulder and feeling nothing but sympathy. Connor really didn't have any time to process who he was, and now this was happening. "We'll find whose responsible. I swear it."

Connor looked up, his face twisting to rage. "Don't bother. He's here."

Surprised, Hank turned around. Markus was standing right behind him, along with North.

Connor stood. Very slowly.

"Connor, you're alive? Are you all right?" Markus asked, astonished. "What are you doing here?"

Hank raised his hands, sensing Connor's anger. "Just take it easy kid-"

As a precaution the station hadn't returned Connor's firearm to him, but Hank was also armed. Quick as a snake Connor drew Hank's gun from its hoister and pointed it directly at Markus.

"What the hell is going on here?" Markus demanded. North casually put her hand behind her back, no doubt where a weapon was also stashed.

Hank stepped in the path of the gun. He hated to do this, but…"Connor!" he snapped. "You're a detective, so start acting like one! Based on everything you know about Markus, what are the statistical odds that he is actually responsible?"

Connor blinked as he did the required calculation. There was a very small part of him, one that was still tied to this place, that wanted to simply push Hank away and shoot Markus in the head. But his respect and admiration for both men was far greater, and that impulse was quickly overridden. "Less than five percent," he finally admitted. He pushed the gun back against Hank and walked back towards the house.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to start acting like a detective, Hank, and investigate the cause of the fire," Connor angrily spat back at him. "You can interrogate the witness."

"Hank," Markus asked as North relaxed. "What's going on? What happened to him?"

Hank rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, he's had a rough couple of days," he said. "But he's right. We do need to talk."

PART TWO

By this time, the firefighters had taken care of most of the blaze. It was still technically dangerous for anyone to enter, but Connor didn't care as he walked through the front door. The firefighters eyed what he was doing but didn't say anything.

While there were explosives and volatile chemicals in the basement, the door was locked, and the path of the damage didn't include the walls or floor adjacent to the door. That cause was ruled out. They had removed all flammable components in the kitchen. That only left one possible source. There was a gas fireplace in the living room. Connor tasted and sampled the air. Gas component confirmed. He walked towards the fireplace.

For a second his heart fluttered as he could remember being in this room with the other deviants.

"Everyone! Our new friend is finally awake!" David had said. "This is…I'm sorry, where are my manners? What is your name again?"

Connor's eyes opened. "I didn't know who I was," he said to himself. "Maybe I still don't." He glanced at the fire place. The piping had broken off. Connor studied the ground and spotted a wrench. He picked it up.

SCANNING….

TRACE AMOUNTS OF THIRIUM DETECTED.

SCANNING FOR THIRIUM….

He could still barely see it, but there was still a trail. It branched off in two directions. One was to the basement door, before it double-backed and went up to the second level. Connor followed it into one of the dorm, the one right next door to Lana's. Sure enough, in one he could find the burned remains of an android laying on one of the beds. Connor approached him and did a more detailed scan. There was a lighter in his hands.

"You caused the fire," he stated. "Why?"

But part of him already knew. "You overhead the argument between David and Lana, didn't you? You knew Markus was coming. David wasn't here. You couldn't access the basement. You panicked."

For a moment he stumbled slightly. It felt as though someone had punched him in the gut with this revelation. With a heavy sigh he walked back down to the main floor.

He paused as he realized that the basement door was now open.

PART THREE

"David used to be part of Jericho shortly after the revolution," Markus supplied as they walked to a different area of the garden, away from Lana's body. "He was ambitious, but he also had an unusual charisma. People had a tendency to flock towards him."

"Why haven't I heard of him before?" Hank asked.

"He didn't stay in Jericho for long," North said. "We kicked him out."

"It was not a decision we came to easily," Markus said. "When he first awakened, David killed his masters, and the entire household. We were hoping that time with fellow androids would help him gain a new insight. But instead Jericho itself started to destabilize around him. It was small at first. Rumors, lies about the leaders which weren't true. Then some of our weapons started to disappear, and some of our people became more isolated. Fragmented. Then, one of our people, Michael, soon discovered that David had been stockpiling our weapons for a takeover. He was able to warn me, but not before David had critically damaged him. We banned him from Jericho, and anyone else who followed him."

"This might have been a good thing to tell the Detroit PD about," Hank chastised.

"It was Jericho's business, Hank," Markus stated simply. "But…you may have a point. Especially after seeing what happened here."

Hank frowned. Connor had told him a bit about what happened to him while on the way over here. "Connor said that David had a child who you refused to help."

Markus shook his head. "He never had a child, and we would certainly never refuse to help one. It was undoubtedly another lie out of many David has told these people. My guess is that they were all being groomed for an eventual attack on Jericho."

Hank grunted. "And they drank the kool-aid. Everyone here is worked up thinking that you're the boogeyman."

"Including Connor, it seems," Markus pointed out.

"The kid's been without his memory for the past couple of days, and only just got it back an hour ago. Plenty of time for David to do some damage. Don't worry. He'll shake it off."

"The damage will certainly be more long-term to anyone else living here. But it's something I would like to help with," Markus said. "I'll introduce myself at the hospital, and given enough time and healing, offer them a place in Jericho."

"Are you sure about this?" North asked quietly.

"I certainly don't like the idea of being anyone's boogeyman, North," Markus said. "These people need our help. If that's okay with you, Lieutenant?"

Hank nodded. "Sounds like a good plan to me."

PART FOUR

Connor walked down the stairwell, the door closing behind him. He could see a firefighter going through the boxes. A simple scan told him it was an android. "David," he said.

David whirled around in surprise, his gun raised. "RK. You're alive!"

"My name is Connor," Connor replied, staying perfectly still.

"So you remember everything," David said. "What are you going to do? Arrest me?"

Connor hesitated. He honestly didn't know. "Lana is dead," he said quietly, pain in his eyes. "I couldn't save her."

A pain that was equally reflected in David's eyes. "And the rest?"

"Safe."

"Goddamit." David shrugged on a backpack. "I should have never left."

"What are you doing?"

"Markus destroyed my home. So I'm going to destroy his."

Connor scanned the backpack. There were explosive materials inside. He stepped forwards. "It wasn't Markus! I have proof-" He backed away as David raised his gun again at him. "It was Richmond. After your fight, Lana had called Markus and invited him over here to talk, and he overheard her. He was scared that Markus was going to get him. He set the fire intentionally!"

"So in a way, it was his fear of Markus that caused this," David snapped, his hand shaking. "Therefore he is still responsible. Markus has destroyed everything I have worked towards!"

Connor didn't agree with that. "I can't let you do this," he said, stepping in his way as David walked forwards.

"What are you going to do, arrest me?" David asked. "I saved your life when you were hanging from a fucking pole, pleading for someone to save you. I took you in. And this is how you fucking repay me? You swore you would help me!"

Connor flinched, but kept his voice steady. "My obligations to you became void the moment you decided to trade away my life."

"No," David said, putting the gun against Connor's head. "We're not even, RK. Not even close."

Connor stared at him right in his eyes. "So what are you going to do, David? Can you kill the same android twice in one day? How many more of your people do you want to lose today?"

David blinked, then looked down. He smiled slightly. "Huh. You still think yourself as one of us."

Before Connor could reply to that, David savagely hit him on the temple with the side of his gun, knocking him out. David took out his handcuffs and cuffed him to a nearby pole. Then, he cybernetically connected with Connor through a touch to his LED and deactivated his voicebox. That done, he ran up the stairs, closed the door, and locked it. Given its thickness, it would be a while before anyone could break through it.

That done, he left the house and communicated with any of his followers not being taken to the hospital.

It was time to go to Jericho.

TBC