Chapter 6: Pieces

Valerie pulled into her driveway. As she left the car, she glanced at Hank's house just to see someone going out of the door. She squinted her eyes in disbelief. That can't be him.

"Connor?" she said, waving her hand. The man shot her a look and stopped.

She crossed the road quickly to meet him.

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked, eyeing him up and down. The way he looked now, dressed in a casual outfit, made her heart beat faster. He will be the death of me one day, I swear. "And what's with the clothes?"

"I'm going to Jericho. I have to stop Markus," he said with indifferent face.

Oh no.

She could feel her blood pressure rising, the pulsing noise banging loudly in her ears.

"Is that what you really want?" Valerie said slowly, searching his eyes for even the smallest sign of a doubt. But there was none.

"It doesn't matter what I want. This is my order and I was designed to obey," Connor said as if he was stating the most obvious thing in the world.

She knew there was no point in arguing with him now when he was all set on his mission. Seeing him like this, distant and focused, deep within the boundaries of his program… she felt a cold shiver running down her spine. She could only hope that he would make a good decision when it comes to it. Good for him? For CyberLife? Or for his kind?

She bit her lip and let out a long sigh.

"I get it. Your mission. And you always accomplish your mission. Just…" Valerie cleared her throat to get rid of a lump that was nearly choking her, "...come back to us. In one piece, if you can."

Connor nodded and walked away.

As she was watching him go, she felt like her heart was shattering. He's gonna get himself killed this time, isn't he? She took off her necklace, always hidden under her clothes. A small raw mountain crystal pendant glimmered in the streetlights. Valerie closed her eyes and said a short prayer to the universe.

She ran after Connor and caught him around the corner.

"Connor, wait up!"

He looked over the shoulder and slowed down. Valerie stopped in front of him, determined.

"I know it's stupid… but take this with you, please," she said and handed him the necklace.

He stared at it with a puzzled look on his face. Then a corner of his lips twitched and Valerie felt a wave of relief. He's not totally gone.

"Thank you," Connor said as he put the necklace in his jacket's inner pocket and looked her in the eyes.

Without giving it much thought, Valerie stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly on a cheek.

"Good luck," she whispered and turned away to leave. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand. She held her breath and met his intense gaze.

"Don't worry, I remember what I've promised," he said, his voice low and raspy. "I'll come see you after."

"Hank, it's been almost 48 hours!

"You know that he can take care of himself."

"His tracker is deactivated! And those CyberLife assholes banned all us from accessing any status information of RK800 models."

"Fuck."

"…Hank …what if-"

"Don't even think about it, Val. Go home. I'll call ya as soon as I hear anything."

Her eyes were glued to the TV screen. She couldn't believe it. Apparently neither could the reporter, hovering over the scene in his helicopter.

"The deviants… the deviants are singing!"

The song of hope.

The song of peace.

Their united voices hit her like a train, the melody and the words pulling on every string of her very soul.

Valerie tried to spot a familiar figure among the androids. He's not there.

She jumped at the sound of incoming message on her phone.

She took a deep breath and read it.

- he's OK -

Her knees gave way and she sat on the floor, laughing and crying at the same time. She could hear the androids singing as she pressed her palms to her face, trying to stop the sobs.

"Everything will be alright… everything will be alright."

Valerie looked up on the TV screen. This is it. The moment of truth.

"It looks like… yes, the military is withdrawing."

Then she let it all out.

AMANDA!

...there's got to be a way.