North stared at him with anxiety… With sympathy.

"I've been looking for you," he said in jest. What a ridiculous time to be making jokes, but the stress had finally reached his fragile state. How fucking insane was all of this? It was amazingly more insane than the last time he was kidnapped, and that shit was pretty fucking insane.

She furrowed his brow at him in sadness, "You've been looking for me?"

"Yeah, at the gunsho-" but before he could finish, she smacked her open palm over his mouth.

It, the thing she didn't love, turned away from the uncovered window to smile at her, "Now what was that?"

"He's talking bullshit," although her words were of anger, her tone was of fear.

"If you say so, my love," it winked at her and returned its attention to what dwelt beyond the window.

Hank gave North a quizzical look, "She ain't stupid enough to fall for your trap."

"But she exactly is," it was excited by the foolishness of mortal creatures. "Humans have such a weakness for love. You're just fallible little beings, aren't you? So undeserving of everything you have."

"Jesus Christ," Hank sighed. "Get it over then, and kill us already."

"Your brains are so limited; it's impossible to explain anything to you," it shook its head in disappointment. "You don't even know what you do know, and you don't even know what you don't."

"Alright, Aristotle," Hank made a useless attempt against his bonds. He could say this much: he'd never been tied to a chair before. "We get your point."

"You're doing it again," it let out a small chuckle. "This is why I love humans so."


"You know exactly what's going to happen," as Henrietta had gone over it in her mind only once to know the final outcome. She didn't know how to save Hank and herself.

Connor squatted next to her just outside that motel room door. They weren't stupid; they already knew that whoever was in there saw them coming.

"You don't know that," but Connor knew that fate had an affinity for her.

"I won't let Hank go," her eyes widened at Connor.

"And I won't lose you," Connor nodded sharply in response. "We don't have to lose anybody through this."

"We don't know what's on the other side of that door," Henri's knuckles were wrapped tightly around her gun.

Connor saw this, "Incorrect, I think we both know what's on the other side of that door."

The door to room 210 swung open as Markus pressed a gun into the back of Connor's skull, "Drop the weapons, please."

Henrietta didn't let go.

"You've made the right choices so far," it wedged the tip of the gun further into the back of Connor's head causing him to stoop forward. "You didn't get the police involved; like I knew you would. Good girl you are, but you felt inclined to bring your sad, robot boyfriend. This was certainly a mistake."

She tossed her gun over the railing and into the parking lot bellow, "Happy?"

"Not yet," a devilish grin painted its face. "But we're getting closer and closer."

It leered inside the room and at North who held a knife against Hank's throat. It was nice to see her doing exactly as she was told.

"In we go," it gestured upwards with the weapon. "The boy can't come in though."

Connor didn't have a gun; Connor couldn't even defend himself if it came down to it. She carefully examined Connor's lucid expression; he was afraid, but she wasn't.

"Fine," she let out. "Connor, go back to the car."

He could still sense the gun being pressed into the back of his head, "I don't want to leave you or Hank."

"What choice do we have, Connor?" she kept her tone flat and even in order to prevent any more stress from building on Connor's delicate shoulders. "Everything's going to be alright," but even she knew this wasn't true.

It twisted and ground the tip of its gun into Connor's skull, "Do what she says. Be a good boy. Go, wait in the car."

Connor really, really didn't want to. He surmised that the worst would happen the second he left them. Either Hank or Henrietta was going to die, or possibly both. All of the above were unwelcome options.

"Please, Connor," Henri pleaded with him one last time.

And Connor did exactly what he was told, but he would come to regret it.

Henri carefully straightened out as she locked a gaze with it, not Markus, "So now what?"

"Let's make a deal," it took a step backwards and waved its hands at the room.

Henrietta steadily progressed forward and into the room where she saw Hank tied to a chair, and North propped behind him.

"I don't want to hurt him," it poked at the side of Hank's face with its weapon. "And it's up to you whether or not I do."

Hank squinted at the cold gun, "Don't do it, Henrietta. The life of one old man isn't worth it."

"He only says this because he is ultimately a selfish being, but the choice isn't his to be made."

Henri shifted her gaze between the three people who stood in front of her, "If I don't give you what you want, you kill him, right?"

"Perfect, you nailed it," it smiled at her.

"I give you what you want, and I die; we lose a lot," she had already attempted suicide to save herself before; however, that wouldn't be a viable option this time. If she did that, Hank would still die.

It looked at North while giving her a dirty grin before turning back to Henri, "That's the problem with ultimatums, isn't it? They just aren't ever so simple, are they?"

"I'm sorry, Hank," Henri almost choked on her own words. "I know you've had a difficult life, and I know things have never been easy. In a million years I never wanted this to happen. You're the last person on earth I would have wanted this to happen to."

Her lips curled up in a warm and comforting smile; a reassuring smile, "I saved, Connor. He's okay, Hank. He'll be okay."

He smiled in response, "I'm not gonna ask how you did it. It's probably better I don't know."

"Probably," she let out a single chuckle.

Not-Markus frowned as he threw his arms in the air, "This isn't the time or place for your silly sentiments; however, entertaining they may be."

It failed to understand what was transpiring before its eyes. Hank was the single mortal thread that tied her to this world. Hank was a weak, pliable creature that could be shoved and tossed around. Hank was a man who had lived a life long enough.

"I could easily just kill you now," Henri shrugged at Not-Markus nonchalantly. "I could take you on and you know it."

Its face contorted while lifting a brow, "And let poor Hank die; your father? Lovely North here will slice his throat the moment you try, and if you go for her I shoot him instead. You don't win."

She believed him.

"I can't-" she stopped to examine Hank who still wore a small grin. "-I've made a lot of mistakes. And a lot of what's happened has been my fault, but understand that the damage you've done, and intend to do, is too great."

"Is that your final answer?" it planted the gun against the side of Hank's forehead.

"You're not leaving this room alive," she clenched her teeth as she spoke this.

"Ha," it bellowed at her. "And what difference does that make to me? With or without Markus, I am still alive. I guess you can say that I've just been grateful to have him around."

"I want you to understand that it's your sentiments I don't care for," she said this to it, but she was staring Hank in the eyes. "You know so little about humans, and you never will know what we're about in the end."


Connor heard a single gunshot while sitting inside the car. There were few possible cases in which the gun went off and no one was harmed. The most likely scenario was one where it had pulled the trigger. It was unlikely it intended to damage Henri, so it was more believable that Hank would be shot in this case. On the other hand, there is a possibility that Henri retrieved the gun from it and then shot it. There were other possibilities to take into consideration as well. Connor never physically saw into the room himself, so he was unaware as to whether or not Hank was in there, or whether or not someone else was in there with them.

He had recovered the weapon which Henrietta had thrown over the railing of the motel overpass, so he wouldn't be entering the situation defenseless. He had already wasted too many precious seconds contemplating the possible outcomes; he needed to go.

Before he could arrive, he heard a second gunshot.


"You've made your decision," Not-Markus, who still had his weapon trained on the side of Hank's head pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Fury built onto Henrietta's face, "No." But she knew it was going to happen.

"This is where my sentiments get me," it spoke with anger for the first time. "And it's where they get you, Henrietta."

North had let go of Hank's head and had backed away onto the motel bed. She was mortified, terrified, horrified. She had so many chances to stop Not-Markus before things got to this point, but she was too obsessed with saving Markus himself to take any action.

Henri's heart pounded in her chest as she let out a stuttered breath of air, "He never did anything to you… Anyone."

"No human is innocent," it slacked its arm which still held the weapon. "You should know this by now."

"And you're no more innocent than any of them," she clenched her fists into tight balls.

Tears were falling from North's face as she peered at Not-Markus's gun. It was time to make up for her own selfishness and wrongdoings.

Not-Markus wasn't expecting North to betray him. It was in love with her, and it knew that she was at least in love with Markus. All this time they had spent together, it assumed she would do anything for it. It genuinely thought she would kill Hank for it if it came down to it, but she never was going to. If Henri had just gone after Not-Markus, Hank would still be alive.

North jumped up from the mattress and shoved Not-Markus into the wall. Its weapon clattered to the floor as she dove after it.

Its eyes went wide after it saw what she was doing, "North, why?"

Laying down on the floor, North lifted the weapon to meet Not-Markus's shocked gaze, "I'm so sorry, Markus. I didn't want to do this. I love you so much."

"It's okay," he smiled back; Markus smiled back. "I'll always love you."

She shot him directly in the head.


When Connor arrived at the scene, he didn't want to believe his own eyes, but how couldn't he? He was an android; therefore, his eyes could never deceive him. He wasn't subject to delusions in the same way humans were, but he wished he was.

Henrietta, who was still being consumed by rage, turned to Connor once he reached the door, "Connor…"

"Hank…" he let his weapon drop to the floor.

"Connor, I-" she stepped towards him and placed her hands on the side of his face. "Connor… I'm sorry. I-I didn't want this to happen."

A tear rolled down his cheek, "It isn't your fault, Henri. None of this is your fault."

"You're wrong," she whimpered in response. "Things wouldn't be like this if it wasn't for me."

He didn't say another word to her, instead he placed his hand over the back her head and pulled her towards him. In their embrace, he showed her how much he loved her, and how much he loved Hank. She knew this as she had seen it before, but she still didn't understand it. She still couldn't understand his love for her. That's exactly why he was a better person than her.

North, who was still slumped on the floor, stared at the two in bewilderment, "I-I can't believe I let this happen…" North was very much the same as Henri when it came to self-blaming. Just as Henri had convinced herself Hank's death was her fault, North had done the same.

Henri let go of Connor and pivoted her body to face North, "You're not infected?"

North nodded her head from left to right.

"What were you doing with-" Henri wasn't sure what to call Markus now, "-this thing…"

"I thought I could save him… I thought if I tried enough he could see me and-" her eyes were welling up with tears. "-he could see me, and whatever that thing was would go away."

At first, Henri felt resentment towards North, but Henrietta was all too sympathetic to be mad, "I'm sorry… I-We… We wanted to save him."

North looked utterly defeated, "Now what? What's supposed to happen now?"

Henri glanced back at Connor hoping he had something to add, but his empty gaze was locked on the slouching body of the deceased Hank.

"That thing that was controlling Markus, we still need to stop it." Henri felt like she was tainting any possible mourning by saying such words. "Markus had stolen a hard drive from us, we need it back. It might be our only chance to stop this… Virus."

North gradually lifted her body from the floor, "He took it somewhere… He didn't tell me where, but I followed him that day… I always followed him. He went to an office building downtown… Cyber Tech Industries."

This statement had Henrietta intrigued, "Cyber Tech? Seriously?"

"Yeah," North pawed at her wet cheeks. "That was it."

Connor finally registered the conversation that was taking place before him, "Does that mean something to you, Henri?"

"Cyber Tech had been developing a quantum computer ever since their previous CEO passed," Henri knew this is why Khatri had become obsessed with the case. "I can't believe it…"

"What?" Connor titled his head at her.

"Connor, don't you see?" Henri's jaw dropped as her head moved between Connor and North. "Who's to say this quantum computer couldn't make something like this? It could have made this virus… Or someone could have used it to make the virus."

"If we shut down this computer, we can stop the virus?" he asked.

"I don't think it's that simple," Henri was deep in thought. "It wouldn't help anyone who's already infected, but it might stop it from evolving further or… Honestly, I really don't know. But I have an idea."

Connor lifted a single brow at her in response.

"You, North, you're both immune to it," Henri had wished she was too and didn't quite understand why she wasn't but they were. "You might be able to interact with the computer, stop this virus. I think we should pay Elijah Kamski another visit."

"I don't like visiting Mr. Kamski," his trips to the man's villa were never pleasant ones.

"I'm with you, but I think he's our only hope right now," Henri had almost forgotten about the two dead bodies that laid before them, and how one of them was her own father.

"I'll call Chris, and I'll-" Connor still hadn't grasped the concept of mourning someone you loved. Everything had happened so fast; Henrietta had just passed away days ago only to come back again. He never thought he was going to get over her, and he knew he never would… Maybe because she was still here things wouldn't be so bad… Things wouldn't be so bad with Hank gone.

"Okay…" she would blame herself for his death until the day she died.


At this point, it was almost five in the morning which is why Kamski wasn't overwhelmed with delight to see the three unusual creatures at his door. Especially considering one of them was supposed to be dead, and the other had already died once that morning.

"Now, what can I do for you three strangers?" he spoke while standing in the cold doorway contemplating the strangeness of the situation.

Henrietta, who stood in front of both Connor and North, replied to the annoyed man, "I know where the virus came from, Elijah. And I think I know how we can stop it."

"That's fantastic," he answered sarcastically. "I'm glad you thought it was important to inform me. Now, please go."

He was about to shut the door too before Henri nudged her foot in to halt it, "Elijah? Are you serious? That's all you have to say?"

"I had a lot to drink last night, and I just got to sleep… Sometime recently," he squinted his eyes and rubbed his index finger and thumb across his brow. "I'm assuming this is a dream, but then again, you always were one for miracles weren't you, Henri?"

Henri braced her arm against the door and pushed her way in, "I don't have time to discuss the specifics of what happened to me. We need your help Elijah, and we need it now."

"You know Chloe… She's just gone," he stumbled to the side after Henri barged in. "She just left me without a word. It was bad enough when the other two left… But what did that matter in comparison to her? My first, darling angel."

North frowned viciously at Henrietta, "Is this guy really supposed to fucking help us? The bastard can barely stand!"

"Give him a moment," Henri came to the disoriented man's defense. "Elijah, you need to relax."

Connor raised his brow at Kamski, "I'll go make some coffee." And he wandered off into the home, not sure where he was going.

Kamski flopped down in a foyer chair, sniffling at himself, "I'm fine. I'll do your thing, or whatever."

"Elijah," Henri spoke softly while crouching down next to his chair, "Both Connor and North are immune to the virus. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but maybe you could figure how it's possible."

"I suspected Connor was immune, I never said he was," he shrugged at her.

"We know immunity is possible," she continued. "Markus was never able to infect North, and we know the virus was afraid of Connor, likely for the same reasons. You have to be able to use that for something."

"And do you really want me touching your precious boyfriend," he giggled at himself. "Does he want that? I know he doesn't like me."

Henri sighed in return with slacked shoulders, "Elijah, none of that matters right now. I'm afraid about what might happen next. I know where the virus came from, now I just need to know how to stop it. But I can't do that without you; I don't know how to do that."

He titled his head down as the previous giggling faded from his expression, "Anything for you, Henri."

North nervously approached them, "I'm not gonna let you guys do some weird shit to me."

"Don't worry, darling," he turned his shallow grin up at North. "I promise it won't hurt. I just need to take a look inside your mind."

Henri exhaled as she stood back up, "You'll be fine. You're not going to be damaged or anything like that. And if he does damage you, I'll just kill him, so it balances out in the end."

"My precious girl," Kamski mumbled under his breath.

Connor retuned after a few moments, and not surprisingly with the promised drink, "Everything alright?"

Henri moved away from North, "I would say a lot isn't alright, but hopefully we can fix that."

Kamski peered over at Connor and grabbed at the air, "I'll be taking that, thanks."

Connor quickly handed over the hot drink while Kamski cautiously removed himself from his seated position. He closed his eyes and took in a long whiff of the fragrant beverage.

"Come with me, children," he gestured to the door that led to his minimalist office. "But not you," he pointed at Henri.

"Elijah?" she shrugged in annoyance.

"I don't need you getting in the way," he flailed his free arm wildly at the air. "You're akin to a mother hen; I don't need you prowling around my work."

"I could be of assistance," she tried to implore.

"You need me because I know what to do. You don't," he jabbed his finger at the air toward her. "I'll be monitoring their software as I introduce the virus into their system. Since they are immune, I should be able to determine what's allowing them to fight it off."

"But-" she wanted to get a word in edgewise, but Kamski wouldn't allow it.

"Now, if you would have listened to me sooner, maybe this wouldn't be a problem," he seemed smug over this; smug over the fact that he was right even though what he had originally suggested could have turned Connor into a mindless slave.

"We didn't know immunity was even possible, Elijah," she wasn't prepared to take the risk originally because she had begun to like Connor at the time. "It was too dangerous, but now we know."

"But now we know," he glanced at both North and Connor. "And now maybe we can save the world from more pain."