Chapter 4:

After finishing with the interrogation, Connor and Hank had been working on some unfinished paperwork for the following days.

It was one particular day, while Connor was working that Hank was heading for his desk.

Hank shook his head and frowned.

"I see you're already here. Do you ever take a break, lieutenant?"

"Why would I? Duty calls."

Captain Fowler stepped out of his office glancing in their direction. He was a tall burly brown skinned man with a white ironed shirt and black tie with matching blacking pants.

"Bourne, Anderson in my office."

Hank followed behind Connor as they both headed towards his office.

At they headed towards the stairs, the brown haired guy from the interrogation bumped into his shoulder.

"Watch it, Bourne. Stay out of my way."

Connor hissed.

"Are you alright?" Hank asked.

"Just Reed, being Reed," he muttered under his breath.

With that the two stepped inside Fowler's office.

Hank took the chair in front of Fowler's desk while Connor stood up, his arms folded.

"There are usually less than 2 or 3 files of homicide related cases on my desk. Usually we get burglaries, petty crimes but now it's serious. There have been a lot of anti-android riots going on. Rebels spewing anti-android propoganda, destroying androids. Humans and androids are getting caught in the crossfire. We had to send a team after we heard how rowdy these protests were getting."

Connor frowned.

"Why are you telling us? Isn't it our job to keep the peace between androids and humans?" Hank asked. "We step in and silence the riot, it'll just be asking for trouble. It'll lower our morale amongst the people."

"I'd agree but it's not just our problem anymore. There have been threats, letters written to employees who work at Cyberlife. We don't do anything and the situation will only get worse."

Hank hissed under his breath.

"Sh-t.'

"I trust you agree with my decision then, Lieutenant?"

Connor nodded.

"Of course, why would I disagree? You really think an old grudge is going to cloud my judgement? It doesn't matter who's involved, I would still do my job to protect humans, or androids."

"Then what I ask of you will be simple. I want you to investigate into this matter and see who's responsible for these threats."

"I'll see what I can-"

"With your partner."

"No offence captain, but I don't need a partner for this. I'm perfectly capable of working alone."

Hank snorted.

"I don't see what's so funny, Anderson," Connor said.

"You would have died up there trying to apprehend that suspect if it wasn't for me, he had a gun on you."

"He had a gun on you too."

"Well he would have shot you if I hadn't distracted him."

Connor snorted.

"You were hardly any help. I was talking him down just fine."

"Enough, this is neither the time nor the place for your little spat. I suggest you two get to work."

"But captain," Connor sputtered.

"We're through arguing about this. If you don't want to work with him, you can hand in your badge. Now excuse me, I've got work to do."

Hank headed out with Connor following behind him with his shoulders slumped.

He stuck his tongue out.

The sides of Connor's lips curled up in a smile.

"Very classy, Anderson."

"You're so strait-laced, Connor. You need to loosen up abit. Where's your sense of humor?"

"It died with this conversation."

Hank huffed.

"Do you always need to be so difficult?"

"It isn't anything personal, Anderson. I'm just a difficult guy to be around."

He sighed.

"What do you want to drink? I could bring you something back."

Connor brought a finger up to his chin stroking it absent-mindedly.

"Maybe a glass of water."

"You sure you don't wanna coffee."

"I don't drink coffee."

Hank rolled his eyes before walking towards the break room.

Once Connor reached his desk, he went back to work.

Hopefully the captain had already sent him the case files.

A hand slammed his desk.

Connor looked to the left of his computer spotting Reed glancing down at him with a sneer.

"Well, well, look at you. The department's long nosed hotshot trying to be a good hard-working cop. Congratulations on last night, very impressive. Amazing, how only a little praise helps stroke that large ego of yours."

"Shut it, Reed."

"Or what?"

Reed slapped some papers off his desk on the floor.

Connor stared at him impassively getting up from his seat to pick up the papers off the floor.

"You can't touch me and you know it. What would the captain say if he found the department's top lieutenant getting violent with his co-workers?"

Connor was silent.

"You ought to be kinder to your co-workers you never know when they might retaliate."

He walked off but not before kicking Connor's right knee as he passed causing him to slip on the floor with a yelp.

"Lieutenant, what are you doing on the floor?"

Connor looked up and saw Hank had returned. A glass of water was set on his empty desk, Hank must have got it for him.

"I slipped and knocked over my papers."

Hank smiled.

"Here let me help."

He knelt down and helped collect the stuff that had fallen off the desk.

"Thanks."

"You don't need to sound so sour about it. Have some respect to your elders," Hank said.

"Elders? You could pass as someone in their early forties."

Hank ruffled his hair.

"I see you're as about as charming as you look. Do you even have a filter or do you just spout out stuff from the top of your head?"

"Perhaps I should have kept my opinions to myself."

"Nah, it's fine. I mean you weren't wrong... about my age, I mean. My son says I'm supposed to be 50 but who's counting."

"If that is an invitation to tell you my age, you're going to have to try a little harder than that."

Hank snorted.

"Why would I need to know that? It's already been established that you are a sixty year old man in the body of a twenty maybe thirty something year old man."

Connor frowned.

"You're not very funny."

Hank chuckled.

"I like to think I'm hilarious."

Connor set the remaining things on his desk.

"What's the deal between you and Reed anyhow?"

His right brow raised a hair.

"What do you mean?"

"I may be getting old but I'm not blind. I saw you two when I was heading back."

Connor's shoulders slumped.

"I see."

"Why do you let him bully you like that?"

"We have a history," Connor said curtly.

"He seems out for blood."

"Since I've worked here, we've never really seen eye to eye."

Hank sighed.

"I guess some people never change."

"Hey Bourne."

Both looked back to see Detective Reed had returned with a smug smirk on his face.

"What is it, Reed?"

"I think your suspect in the recent case has a bit of a screw loose. We tried to move him but he started a fight with one of the guards."

"What?!" Connor asked before running quickly towards the cells with Hank at his heels.

Once they arrived at his cell, Connor saw the man sprawled with his back on the floor a bloody mess. The wound seemed to be gushing blood from his neck.

"Sh-t," Hank sputtered under his breath. "Looks like he committed suicide."

Connor narrowed his eyes glancing at the gun powder near his neck.

"Bourne, are you alright?" Hank asked glancing at him, concern in his blue eyes.

Connor took out the gun from his holster and pointed it at his chin.

"B-Bourne!"

Hank reached out for the gun.

"Relax, Anderson."

"Connor, what are you doing?" He sputtered.

"I have a question for you, Anderson. What would happen if I pulled this trigger?"

"Connor, what are you saying?!"

Connor sighed impatiently.

"Anderson, just answer the question."

Hank snorted.

"Well I guess you'd keel over and die like most people who do those stupid kind of things."

Connor glanced at him with shrewd eyes.

"Keel over? He was shot through the bottom of his chin. Don't you find it odd he landed on his back?

Hank stroked his chin with his index finger.

"How would that be odd?"

"The knockback of the bullet wouldn't have been enough force for the victim to be pushed on his back if he had shot the bullet because the moment he shot himself, the head would have fallen forward because the brain wouldn't have functioned to stop any gravity from making the head fall forward. The weight alone would have made him collapse on his stomach yet he is lying on his back."

"So what does it mean?"

"It looks like a murder took place."

Days passed as forensics took in the body for an autopsy when there was another report of a double homicide.

Gazing at the file it appeared to be the murder of a 29 year old male by the name of Gabriel Horn and 22 year old male James Turner.

Connor handed over the files to Hank.

Hank gazed up at Connor noticing his eyes drifting off elsewhere.

"Lieutenant, are you ok? You're oddly quiet"

Connor looked at him with his right brow raised a hair.

"What do you mean? I'm always quiet."

"Yeah, but it's more than that. You seem preoccupied."

Connor turned to gaze at Hank.

"Anderson, did you say something?"

"See this is exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oh," Connor said. "I was just thinking about the Batt case."

"Something about it seems to bother you. The suspect of that case, you knew him didn't you?" Hank asked.

Connor looked up.

"Yeah, I did. We were in the same unit. I was a major at the time. It was the time of that human and android war. Colonel Stern had asked us to take out the deviants that the rebels had sent on the frontlines. I prefer to forget that it ever happened."

"I can see why. It was a brutal war."

"For one side it was. They were spies that attacked us from the inside. It was nearly an omnicidal bloodbath if one of our units hadn't reported on their upcoming attack."

"I thought the humans were wiped out."

"We surrendered on the deal that our kind would be spared but the androids had managed to get the press to cover it up making the world believe that it was a war that obliterated most of human kind in which they weren't entirely wrong. The war wiped out over three fourths of the human population by the time we surrendered."

Connor frowned.

"Still after that it should have been the end of it."

"End of what?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something but we ought to be heading out."

The two headed to the address. A tall man stood by an alley talking with Detective Reed who had already arrived at the crime scene.

"I see you finally decided to show your face here, Lieutenent. Just got through talking with the person who phoned in the homicide."

"And you are?" Connor asked the man.

"Gordon Lopez."

Gavin headed out to explore more of the crime scene.

"So you're the man who phoned in the homicide but why?" Connor asked.

"A few weeks ago, my partner went missing. I had posted flyers and information on the internet hoping to find any information about him."

Connor sensed Hank glancing at him.

"Earlier this morning, I recieved a call. Someone told me they seen my partner talking with someone in the alley near this address but when I arrived..."

His mouth broke off.

"He was...he was...dead."

"What happened the day before he went missing?"

"Well he had an appointment with his therapist. He has alot of problems with PTSD from when he served in the army."

Connor sensed Hank's shrewd gaze on him. He avoided his eyes.

After questioning the witness, Connor split off to investigate the rest of the crime scene.

"I'm sorry for your loss. Best of luck to you. I hope you can recover," he had said to the witness earlier.

"Lieutenent, what was that all about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You have the emotional capacity of a tin can. That was the most generic thing you could have said to that person."

"I was never the best at being the most tactful."

"That had nothing to do with tact. What you said was fine it was how you said it."

Connor snorted.

"Well it got the job done didn't it. I didn't come across as rude."

"See that's what I'm talking about. Are you ever capable of being genuine or do you just have a big stick up your a-s?"

"I don't have a big stick up anything."

Connor glanced at Horn's corpse first. A bullet had cleanly pierced his chest.

He turned to Turner's corpse handling it with gloves. There were two bullets in his corpse. One at the right corner of his head and one straight through his chest.

He fished out the guy's wallet from his pant pocket.

Inside the wallet was his ID and some calling cards to several doctors and also a therapist.

Back at the office, Connor did a search on his computer. It appeared that the two people who were dead were also apart of the military specifically from his squad.

'I didn't even know that Gabriel or James had settled down in Detroit.'

"So that's what you've been up to."

Connor whirled around in his chair catching Hank glancing over his shoulder at the opened military files of his colleagues.

"I'm sorry, Anderson."

"Why were you looking up the names of the victims in the military database anyway?"

"I had a hunch. I won't know for certain until we receive the autopsy report but I know from our investigation on first glance it looks like a murder suicide. The victims appeared to have shot each other and after one of them was dead, one of them shot themselves on the side of their head."

"We won't know for sure though without the autopsy."

"Just yesterday Mr Batt's corpse also appeared to be the aftermath of a suicide but we never found any murder weapon and the bullets were from unregistered gun."

"You think they're connected. Don't you think that's kind of reaching?" Hank asked.

Connor sighed.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened. There's an old case which I thought had been closed a long time ago. There was a serial killer going around killing people that exclusively worked for the military. I thought we had arrested the murderer. We were sure that the murderer was none other than Elijah Kamsky. He was put on death row and was executed just a year after he had been imprisoned. After the killings stopped I thought it had been all over."

"How were you able to send him to death row? From what I remember there was no direct evidence that pinned him to the crime and no murder weapon. What the police suspected was the murder weapon had no fingerprints."

"It was because of his connection with the war. He was a co-inventor of the androids. We suspected he had programmed an army of androids exclusively built to wipe humanity from existence. He had expressed doubts over serving in the war."

"He was in the war?" Hank asked.

"Yeah, we were in the same squad but we weren't exactly best friends though."

While Connor was at least civil with Elijah, the man had the knack for pressing his buttons.

"I didn't see him as an enemy but we had managed to gather enough evidence that pinned him to the crime. He had abstracted classified files from the military database that contained all of our personal information. Papers on blueprints for war machines. Several of the androids had traces of blood from the victims on their machinery."

"Ah."

"Still it seems I might have made a grave error. If the killer is still running amok that means it's possible I've killed an innocent man."

Hank looked grave.

"If this is the same serial killer from all those years ago, they'll likely come after you next."

"I am aware."

"Aren't you scared at all?"

"That wouldn't be very professional if I was."

Hank sighed punching him hard on his left shoulder.

Connor yelped in pain.

Hank glared at him.

"Always feel that need to put on a brave face? What do you hope to prove hiding the way you truly feel? That you're a god?"

"Is that how you see me? Like a god?"

Hank took a deep breath.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to see you because you've got this professional wall you've enclosed around yourself. What else am I supposed to think?"

Connor turned to glare at him.

"Of course I'm scared but I just choose not to let it affect me."

"Listen, Lieutenant if you ever find yourself in trouble...call me. I don't care what time it is. You can call me in the middle of the night for all I care just call me alright. It'll give me some peace of mind."

Hank wrote his number on a piece of paper before handing it to Connor.

"You have a cellphone?" Connor asked.

"Of course I do. Everyone does."

"I just never pictured you as the type that knows how to use them."

"Well I guess you shouldn't judge based off your perceptions then."

That evening, Connor was off work. He was about to head home when Hank tapped him on the shoulder.

"Lieutenant, do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, that's quite alright. I always take the taxi anyhow."

"Stay safe, Lieutenant."

"Will do."

As soon as Connor was dropped off his place, he walked to his front door and unlocked it before heading inside.

He made certain that both locks were fixed in place before securing the chain.

Connor let out a yawn as he headed to the bathroom to take a shower like he typically did. He preferred feeling clean before heading to bed.

After he finished his shower, he brushed his teeth and changed into some pajamas before heading to bed setting his gun in his bedside table drawer.

It was sometime in the middle of the night that Connor awoke to a light rustling sound.

Carefully and quietly Connor removed his covers and fished his gun from his bedside table drawer and his cellphone for good measure. He placed the cellphone in his pocket before carefully creeping closer to the door with his gun held out in front of him.

With his left hand he attempted to open the door when he heard a slight rustle. He made to turn but before he could make a move, someone was pointing a gun to his neck.

"Don't move or I'll shoot."

The soft raspy voice was familiar.

"Kamski? Is that you?"

"Connor, glad to see you remember me."

Connor set the gun down and put his left hand in his pocket. All he hoped for is that Hank received his text message.

"Are you going to kill me?" Connor inquired.

"Last I checked we weren't enemies, Connor."

"You were convicted of multiple counts of first degree murder because of me so you'll have to forgive me if I don't believe you."

"Do you really think I killed those people?"

"You have every reason to."

"I won't deny your reasons but tell me what good would killing you do when the real murderer is still out there. What you've done it doesn't change what we once were. We're still friends, Connor."

"How do I know you're not the murderer?"

"I think you know the answer to that. Dead people don't come back to life without a reason."

Then it hit him. Elijah Kamski had been executed a couple of months ago after being sentenced to the death penalty.

"You're an android."

"That's right. An HK-600 to be exact."

"The housekeeper android?"

"It can take on any appearance that the owner wants. It was just a matter of transferring my memories into programmable data and I made a copy of myself should I die."

"It would have been better off if you weren't around."

"I came to warn you," he said.

"Warn me?" Connor asked. "Warn me about what?'

"Don't go digging into files that relate to Cyberlife. If the others know your position they'll do anything to ensure your death."

"Are you talking about Cyberlife?"

Connor heard someone kick the door down. Someone trudged up the stairs and opened Connor's bedroom door.

Hank stood outside the door with contorted eyebrows pointing his gun at Kamsky.

"Ahem."

"Mind telling me what's going on, Lieutenant?"

"Guess that's my cue to leave."

Kamski fished something out of his pocket throwing it towards Hank.

It appeared to be a black ball but the moment it landed on the floor it busted in smoke as the two police officers turned to shoot at him. Kamski's presence was completely concealed in the smoke.

By the time the smoke cleared there was no evidence of Kamski having been there.

"Who was that?" Hank asked.

"Elijah Kamski."

"Wasn't that the culprit from that old case of yours gathering dust?"

"Not gathering dust anymore, Anderson."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know but if anything he says has any credibility I think I might have caught the wrong guy."

"Having doubts, Lieutenant?"

"No but I have doubts an android would conduct a serial killing."