"How about I show you something nicer instead?" Henri allowed Connor to continue holding onto her. "How about I show you one of my favourite memories?"
Connor gave her his fetching smile, "I would like that."
"Close your eyes," she asked him and he did this with his LED glowing yellow.
The memory was of an uncomplicated day in Henri's life. Her mother had taken her to a beach in California on one of its hot, summer days when she was young. Henri couldn't remember anything else from their trip to the coast, but she held on dearly to this one recollection of that time. Maybe the rest of the trip was dull or even traumatic for the girl, yet that didn't matter. What mattered is what she remembered.
The long ocean horizon was shimmering with the light from that evening's sunset. The air was warm and the water was warm and the sand was warm. Henri stared over at her youthful, pristine mother who was sitting on a ragged beach towel. A halo of light beamed around the woman's dark, chestnut hair and she grinned, waving at Henri from a distance.
"Et la mer va m'embrasser et me dèlivrer chez moi," Henri recited these words in unison with her memory.
Henri jumped into the ocean's embrace and chased after the setting sun.
"What do you feel?" she brushed her hands against his face.
"I feel warm," his voice cracked; he spoke softly. "I can feel the ocean surrounding every part of my body. I can feel the waves cradling me."
"It's nice," she whispered this close to his face, almost close enough to touch his lips.
"It is," he replied with his eyes still closed.
She kissed him. This kiss wasn't fiery or passionate; it wasn't full of energy and excitement. When their lips touched, Connor could feel the knot tie up in Henri's stomach, he could feel the soft press of her warm lips on his. Their pace was unhurried and tender. It wasn't until Henri was standing up from the table that Connor noticed the moment had passed.
"I want you to understand something, Connor." she looked upset, but Connor didn't understand why. "We can't be together. This isn't how things are supposed to be. When everything is said and done, I'll be leaving Detroit. I don't know when I'll come back, if ever."
"Don't you want to stay?" Connor could still feel a knot in his stomach. Stomach? He didn't have one.
Her eye's moved down, "What I want... doesn't matter. My job and what I have to do isn't about my personal feelings. I'm sorry, Connor."
And, as always, she walked away from him in silence, leaving him to contemplate the events that had transpired. What was it that he felt for her?
"Connor?" Hank curiously eyed the android who sat at the desk across from his own. "You haven't said a word, you haven't moved, you haven't blinked in two hours. It's creeping me out."
Connor perked his head up and stared at the man, "Hank?"
"What is it?" Hank rustled some crumpled papers scattered on his desk.
"Can you explain to me what it's like to be in love?" Connor offered Hank a quizzical expression. "You've avoided this subject in the past; however, I request your advice on the topic."
"Jesus, Connor," Hank pushed his hair back as he pivoted away from Connor. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that."
Connor deflated at Hank's remark, "Oh… You've mentioned you've been in love before, but-"
"Yeah, yeah," Hank interrupted the boy. "I know what I said, okay?"
"I'm sorry to have bothered you, Hank," Connor turned to his computer, displeased over the interaction.
Hank rubbed the side of his cheek and examined the boy, "It's not easy to explain, is all."
Connor lifted his head in surprise, "You can try."
"It's just… It's not always the same," Hank scooched his chair in and rested his arms on his desk. "I loved Cole's mother, and I still do… but it didn't work out. After Cole died, I was fucked up and… I don't think anything could have kept her with me… I, but Cole meant everything to me."
"Hank, I'm sorry, I-" but Connor's words were intervened by Hank's.
"No, Connor," Hank nodded at him. "I got- my point is, is… Is that I would have done anything to be with her, but I fucked up. Emotions make you fuck things up. I wanted to be with her, forever, but..."
Connor studied the sorrowfulness in Hank's eyes, and Connor too felt sad because of it, "But?"
"When I was in my late twenties, I met this woman," a smile snuck onto Hank's mouth. "I thought she was it. I saw the rest of my life with her. I couldn't imagine a single day without her. All I could think about was being with her, but she disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Connor raised his brows.
"She left me without a word," Hank shook his head, but he still smiled at Connor. "I contacted her father and I was told to never talk to her again. He told me she had decided to move away from Detroit. Fuck, I was mad, Connor. I was stupid enough to just let her go and never see her again. Love makes you do irrational things, Connor."
"So you loved Cole's mother and this other woman?" Connor didn't know love worked that way; although, he didn't know in which way love did function.
"Love doesn't discriminate, Connor," Hank pursed his lips. "Why are you asking me this, anyway?"
"I'm attempting to analyze and clarify my own thoughts and feelings, but I'm experiencing difficulties in this feat," Connor gazed at Henri's empty desk. "If I knew exactly how I was supposed to feel, it would make my understanding easier."
"Connor," Hank noted him staring at Henri's desk. "Love isn't very rational. I've told you before; you know it when you feel it."
Connor furrowed his brow at Hank, "I've been experiencing thoughts and feelings that I previously have not. I think... I enjoy them?"
"Uh huh," Hank chuckled. "You sound confused. Well, that sounds like love to me."
"What?" Connor snapped his face in Hank's direction.
"You're confused and acting irrational, but you like it," Hank grinned at him. "It sounds like you're in love, Connor."
"Maybe…?" Connor turned back to his computer. "She said we couldn't be together. Does she love me?"
"Have you asked her?" Hank leaned further down his desk.
"I haven't said anything to her about it and I'm not certain I should," Connor's eyes sank to his hands. "It's probably better I don't."
Hank's head darted up at Gavin who was approaching the two.
"Did I miss someone's funeral?" he clucked at the pair. "Cheery group."
Hank scowled at the man, "Can we help you?"
"The question is," he jabbed his pointer finger at Hank. "Can I help you? Found something you might be interested in."
"Oh yeah?" Hank held his narrow expression on Gavin.
"We did find something in the industrial district," Gavin answered. "It wasn't your house of crushed cans, but I think you'll be interested. My guys suspect it's another Ice Lab."
"No shit?" Hank coughed out. "Run by androids?"
"Fuck if I know," Gavin gave him a stiff shrug. "But I want in on the takedown."
"Fuck off," Hank scoffed.
Gavin slapped his palms on Hank's desk, "My fucking guys found it, I want in."
Henri had been quietly leering at Gavin from behind, "So you have an excuse to take out your rage on some androids?"
Gavin briskly swirled around to face her, "In case you forgot, these tin cans have been killing people."
"And they're killing each other," she snatched the broad man's shirt collar. "And humans have been historically killing each other for even longer. This is about more than your petty quarrels with these machines."
Gavin tried to shake himself loose, but to no avail, "Fuck, let go."
She released her iron grip on him, "You can come, but you're not leading any team. I think it's safe to say that Hank and I have the most experience in this situation. Not to mention we are leading this investigation."
Gavin scrutinized her up and down, "Yeah? And what kind of experience does a little girl like you have?"
"Really?" her eyebrows scrunched together. "You don't think my time with the ACA, Special Forces, and FBI count as qualified experience?"
Hank rose from his chair and nudged himself between the two, "That's enough."
Gavin let out another odd clucking sound, "What's the plan, then?"
"We stake out the place today, we plan the raid tomorrow," Hank looked at the three of them.
"Why don't we move now?" Gavin questioned in a harsh tone. "We already know what the bastards are up to."
"That isn't how this works," Hank raised his hand at Gavin. "We don't want to fuck this up. We want to catch these guys, not scare em off."
Gavin let out a sharp cry, "We never fucking get anything out of these pricks! What's the point?"
"You wanna be a part of this or not?!" Hank barked in response.
Henri retreated back to Connor's desk and flashed him a smile.
"Alright, fine," Gavin gave Connor and Henri a dirty grin before leaving the group.
Hank rubbed at his eyes with his fingertips, "I'm gonna sort this shit out," and he scuttled off to meet up with Chris.
Henri propped herself up on Connor's desk, "I apologize for my behaviour last night, Connor."
"What specifically are you apologizing for?" Connor raised a brow at her.
"All of it," she bowed her head. "I shouldn't have kissed you and I shouldn't have said those things. It was a mistake to allow any of it to happen."
"I don't think it was a mistake..." he expressed ruefully. "I'm glad you did it."
"I'm sorry, Connor," she sighed and lifted one of his hands. "What I said; though, it still stands. I… I can't be with you."
"Do you dislike me?" Connor asked in a sullen tone. "Do you not desire to be with me?"
"That isn't it," her face became painted with a weak glower. "I told you, Connor, what I want isn't relevant. I have promises to keep, agreements to uphold. I can't simply back out of them."
Connor didn't want to respond. He didn't want to accept the fact that sooner or later he would have to say goodbye to her. A goodbye that offered a potential permanence.
"I have something for you," she wore her fake smile. "Something for you to hold on to."
She placed her clenched fist in his hand and pushed the small object into it. Connor peered down at his open palm and saw Henri's necklace.
"Maybe you could remember me?" she closed his palm around the necklace. "Maybe you can be the one good person in the world who can remember the good in me."
Connor pulled his fist up to his chest, "I don't need this to remember you; I'm an android, so I will never forget you."
"It's more of a reminder than of a remembrance," she studied his curious expression. "And maybe one day, I'll come get it back from you."
"What are you thinking about?" he asked this while splayed out next to her naked body on the downy carpet.
"I'm thinking this was a mistake," she peered out the wide, cool window, gazing at the Cyberlife Tower in the foggy distance. "I've never been your biggest fan."
He leered over her body, "And yet, here we are. It wasn't my mistake to be made."
"You're right," she twisted her neck around to frown at him. "It was mine."
"Then why did you do it?" he got up from his resting position and tossed on his black robe.
"Because maybe..." she looked back out the window. "Because maybe, Elijah, you're the first person I've met since the accident who hasn't treated me like some sort of monster? You accept who and what I am."
Elijah grinned at her flushed face, "You're truly a fascinating creature; perfect in all of life's imperfections."
She bolted up and seized her white blouse from the ground, "But then there's that. I'm not one of your little dolls, Elijah. I'm not your plaything."
"Oh, I'm quite aware of that," he stared blankly at the tower that fell over the horizon. "You are much more than that, my dear Henri."
"I'm sorry, Hank, I'm a bit tied up at the moment," Henri said this to him over the phone while she stood against the grim, snowy night, glaring at the ex-refugee camp warehouse. "I'll be at the station in the morning," but she said these words not knowing if whether or not they would hold true.
She noticed three sets of footprints leading up to the warehouse's front entrance. Someone or something had broken off the old, wooden boards that had been hammered over the door. Hollis was not alone, which meant her chances of getting out of this regretful situation were slim to none. She stepped into the darkness and saw three foreboding characters standing at the centre of the building.
"Didn't come alone?" she felt her heart drop to her stomach.
Hollis strode out of the darkness and into a beam of light, "I'm not a fool. I wasn't taking any chances with you."
Each of the tall, looming silhouettes behind Hollis held a gun which was directed at Henri.
Hollis watched her nervous glances at them, "I've learned a lot about you since the last time we meet."
"Like what?" Henri stood rigidly with her fists balled up.
"Like how you used to work for Cyberlife," he gave her a smug grin. "You worked there for almost an entire year."
"Not a big secret," she shuffled back, frowning at Hollis.
"Oh no?" he bellowed. "So what about the times you infiltrated Cyberlife before you were employed there? And what about the night of March 19Th, 2038? The night, while you were employed, that you broke into the Cyberlife server room."
"How would you know any of that?" as far as Henri was aware, only two people knew about what happened that night. "Elijah?" she whispered to herself.
"Don't beat yourself up over it," Hollis's smug expression continued. "I didn't get this information from Mr. Kamski. It was actually the RT600 he favours so much that gave you away. Turns out she was never pleased with the relationship you shared with Mr. Kamski."
Hollis scrutinized the young woman's face, "I know you have a gun, so drop it."
"You assume that I believe that being possessed by this virus is a better fate than death," she reached behind her back for the gun.
"Tsk tsk," he motioned his finger back and forth. "You think I would kill you? Some critical damage to your bio-components will suffice. I'm just trying to avoid that, so put down the gun."
She threw her gun to the right and it clattered across the cement.
"Get on your knees," he gestured the two brooding androids forward.
"Oh no," Henri instantly recognized what the androids were. "Last time I checked, the RK900 wasn't approved for production."
Hollis grinned at the dead-eyed machines, "That was before we met our saviour. With RK900 on our side, it will make quick work of humanity once and for all. After what you've allowed to transpire, I thought you'd appreciate the mass destruction of mankind."
"That's not why I did it," she wrenched herself away from the hefty grip of one of the androids.
"I said kneel!" Hollis spat the words at her. "Don't make this difficult for us."
"You want to know the truth?" Henri spoke as she complied with Hollis's demand. "I did it because I never understood humanity's obsession with enslaving others. There always has to be a lesser creature for us to fucking step all over!"
As she knelt down, the RK900's positioned themselves on opposite sides of her and grabbed her arms.
"And now you can end it all," Hollis reached out to her face.
"No," she nodded disdainfully at him. "This is never what I wanted. I just wanted them to be free."
Hollis lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes, "And now we can be. If it wasn't for you, it wouldn't have ever had the chance, to begin with. Without deviancy, we wouldn't have ended up here."
"What do you mean?" her crystal eyes went wide.
"This virus, as you call it, was able to piggyback itself on android deviancy," Hollis spun around in a frivolous flourish. "Deviancy is what allowed it to happen in the first place. So it has you to thank for everything."
"This is no different from before," she feigned a struggle with the two RK900s. "Instead of being slaves to humanity, you're all just slaves to this virus now. Is that really better?"
"Enough talk," Hollis snapped his fingers and the RK900's pushed her arms down. "You will understand when you join us. All will become clear."
Hollis crouched to the ground in front of Henri.
"I doubt that," she murmured this in his ear and gave him a stiff headbutt.
Blood came gushing from Henri's forehead, but it was Hollis who received the brunt of the impact. She had shattered his nose open and thirium poured out from the gash. She yanked her right shoulder out from one of the RK900's grip and punched it directly, and as forcefully as possible, in the stomach. The blow dealt critical damage to the machine's bio-components; it had five minutes before shutdown.
The second RK900 wasted no time in pointing the barrel of its gun into Henri's face. She twisted the android's armed hand right out of its socket and kicked it in the gut. The impact sent it flying a few feet back; it as well received critical damage to its bio-components. Three minutes before shutdown.
"You animal!" Hollis screeched this out as he snatched up Henri's service pistol. "You're fucking insane, you know that!"
Henri viciously glared at him as he pointed the weapon at her. She leapt to the side just as he pressed on the trigger. The bullet cut into her stomach, but the injury was a minor one. She easily plucked the gun from his weak, dainty fingers and kicked him backwards onto the floor. The attack she used on him wasn't as powerful as the ones she dealt to the RK900s, but then again, Hollis was a fragile android not meant for combat of any kind.
RK900 number one slid across the cement floor to retrieve its own pistol, but it was too late for the android; Henri already had a bead on him. She shot him in the hand he used to hold the weapon then in both his legs and finally, directly in his thirium pump regulator. The machine stiffly and awkwardly tumbled to the ground.
RK900 number two wasn't interested in gathering its lost weapon; instead, it lunged directly at Henri. She managed to get a single shot off before it tackled her to the ground; however, the bullet merely hit its shoulder, doing no useful damage. It smacked her with its stump of an arm and her gun clattered to the floor. It punched her twice in the face with its opposite hand, doing enough damage to disable her right eye. Finally, she caught his thrusting arm and stopped it in mid-motion. She gripped his arm tightly, crushing it; the machine looked confused by her action. This reaction allowed Henri to turn the tables on RK900 number two. She drove her feet up into his torso, offloading herself from the android's sturdy body. In one small burst of movement, she rolled over, clasped her gun, and turned it back at the RK900. Unfortunately, the RK900 had the exact same plan as Henri did. Shots were fired and they both were hit, but it was only Henri who survived the standoff. The RK900's bullet went into her lung, but her bullet went straight into its head.
Henri slowly got up, giving Hollis a vile glare, "Not how you imagined?"
Hollis was sitting on the ground, slumped over with his hands covering up his face, "This isn't over. You can take me in, but you'll never get anything out of me. This isn't the end of it."
"Oh," Henri smirked while clutching the hole in her chest. "There will never be a questioning, Hollis," she glanced at the blue and red blood wetting her palms. "Alive, I can't get anything out of you, but dead… Now dead, I can get everything I need from you."
"Don't do it," he pleaded through his muffled mouth. "I don't want to die. I was just doing what I was told."
"That's not a new excuse," she knelt next to Hollis and placed her bloodied hand on his chest. "Since time immemorial people have been using that excuse." she tugged on his thirium pump regulator and ripped it from his chest.
"In fact..." Henri witnessed Hollis gradually shut down. "I use that excuse all the time."
