The Connor Clone looked at the woman with white-blonde hair, dark eyes dull. He recognized her from the photos Helen had showed him, and Helen's instructions were to kill this woman. She was important to a man named Connor. He was apparently a clone of this man, though the words did not quite connect to the clone. There was no reaction to the words, no relief or upset. He was not an individual, he was a thing, to take orders and follow them through. He had done so, up until the woman had tried to get away. He had not taken the gun from the car, but the knife. A dim recognition that there was some give to Helen's orders did not create much reaction in the clone, either. He did not spare it thought, rather got out of the car and followed this Abby on foot.


She was not cornered, but she turned around to face him regardless. Again, a dim recognition: that she was brave, and admiration for that, but it was not enough to stop him.

"Please." She pleaded. He hesitated, keeping a close eye on her.

"I can't." He told her, frowning. He did not understand, couldn't. This whole life-and-death thing was abstract concepts to the clone. He may've been brighter than the cleaner clones - thanks to both Helen and the fact that he was a clone of a brilliant man - but he knew nothing but what he had been told.


Abby glared at the clone, shifting into a fighting stance.

"You know what? Fine. You don't think you can fight her orders, that's fine, but I'm stronger than Connor, and you're just a clone. I can beat you with my eyes shut!" Abby wondered at the faint look of hurt in his dull eyes, but then gave herself a mental shake. She was imagining it. She didn't want to have to hurt him - he looked like her Connor, and he was a clone with no free will. But he was dangerous.

"I..." That was interesting. "I wish I could. I don't think you should be hurt. Or your Connor."

She gaped at him. "Then try! Try to fight her! If you don't think it's right, stop!" Abby said, hopeful and cautious at the same time. He hesitated again.


"Because I don't know how." Or even what - he'd been told what to do, not anything about life, the universe, and everything. He blinked, wondering where that line came from. He'd not been told that before. What was it from?

"If you put down the knife and let me go, once I rescue Connor, we'll help you be your own person." She told him. The clone looked at her, blinking slowly.

"This is what I know."

"C'mon, just take a step outside of your comfort zone, and don't listen to Helen for once."

"You say this like it's easy." He said, brow furrowed. Dropping the knife on purpose, letting her go on purpose. These were not things he knew, or understood. But... He stared at his hand for a long moment.

The knife fell from his hand, landing in the grass with a dull-sounding thump. A small smile curled the edge of his mouth, and the clone raised his head to meet Abby's gaze.

"I know where he is." He said. He wasn't sure how, but now that he thought about it, he knew exactly where Connor was. The clone smiled at her, though it faded when Abby didn't smile back. "Nevermind." He told her, forcing himself to turn around. Going with her would be easier. She would keep an eye on him, stop Helen's orders from making him take up the gun or a knife and hurting her. The clone didn't want to, and it was hard for him to understand why, but he knew with certainty that he should not be left alone. Her soft footsteps reached his ears, and a hand was on his arm.

"Look, I... I'd actually rather you came, too. And if you know where he is, you can lead me."

He slowly turned around. "You trust me?" He asked.


The connor clone's eyes looked a little less dull, now. She'd even caught that hurt puppydog look again. It was odd, because he was Connor and yet he wasn't. She wanted to trust him, and yet knew that it was dangerous to do so.

When he mentioned knowing where Connor was, his eyes lit up in an achingly familiar way. The smile was her Connor's. The clone's voice was closer to Connor's, now, as well. But this wasn't Connor and she couldn't bring herself to let her smile show.

His muttered 'nervermind' made her give in.

The look in his eyes when he turned back 'round to face her made Abby's heart leap. She took a deep breath, stufing the reaction away but making sure she didn't upset him again. There was a level of curiosity to his voice now; it wasn't as hollow and flat-sounding.

"Not completely." She admitted. How could a bloody clone manage the puppydog eyes of doom?! "But enough. I'd be happier knowing where you are, than not. And to be honest, like I said, you're no match for me." Even after she and Connor had been the cretaceous for a year she'd still been able to beat him in kickboxing. A clone was an exact replica. "And I'll need your help to find Connor, anyway." She admitted.

Somehow, he looked happier. She managed a small smile for his sake, and turned to walk back to the car.

"Not the car." She paused and looked back, confused. He seemed panicky.

"What? Why?"

"There's a gun in there." She blinked; surprised that he was telling her. Well, that was one way to prove he was on her side now. The clone didn't seem to have any ideas on how else to get wherever it was they were going, though.

"Where is Helen keeping him?" She asked.


He hesitated, unsure now. He didn't know in facts and words, so much, as it was a feeling. A pull towards the man he was a clone of. He turned in a slow circle - the clone wasn't sure how he'd thought of doing that - and paused.

"That way. I don't know exactly where. It would be an abandoned storage facility or something like that." The clone said, slowly. Abby raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. I just know where he is, not where he is." The Connor clone attempted to explain, gesturing wildly.

Abby hesitated, clearly thinking it over. The clone held still, distracted for a moment by the sounds of birds and squirrels in the trees. With his breaking free of Helen's commands, he found he had a natural sense of curiosity – clearly from Connor, because he was just a clone, and he wasn't natural. He had to tell that to himself, because he was really liking this life thing, but he was not important. Not in the whole scheme of things.


"Oh, alright, it's better than nothing. It's a bit like a homing beacon, more than literal directions, I'm guessing?" She said after a moment of contemplation.

The clone nodded, but she wouldn't place any bets that he'd completely understood her.

"So, the gun's in the car… but I'll remove it and toss it somewhere, and then I'll drive, yeah?"

"Okay. I will try and give the correct directions." The clone got a funny look on his face, and then completely surprised her – and possibly himself – by behaving in a very connor-ish way. "Turn left at the next light!" He said in a funny voice, clearly pretending to be a GPS.

She couldn't help but burst out laughing, and if there was a slightly hysterical edge to it, well, she had good reasons.


TBC!

AN: Someone wanted me to continue this story, and inspiration hit, so here you go! I'm rather nervous about the clone's pov - which is why i wrote it this way rather than all from abby's or all from his. What do you think?