Riverside Park: November 7th, 2038 - 01:19am
As the chill in the air continued to increase the heavy rain had turned to thick snow, and the city had become fairly quiet as night fell over Detroit. The silence of the unoccupied local park was only marred by the brief passing of dozens of vehicles driving across the Ambassador Bridge stretching over the Detroit River connecting the United States of America to Canada on the other side. White headlights and red taillights glowed through the distant darkness and between falling snowflakes as the travelers passed over one country's border to the other either for business, pleasure or a strange impulse to flee from an unnamed danger that had begun lurking in Detroit's shadowy streets.
Needing a moment to himself to think and to get some perspective on his own life and decisions, Connor risked encountering Hank at the park and had ventured out of Jericho's safe walls to stand along the river and admire the underappreciated view. Having the park to himself was a rare treat since it meant Connor didn't have to worry about anyone harassing him, and yet a part of him was a little disappointed that Hank hadn't gone out to the park that night as well.
Leaning against his forearms atop the metal railing running alongside the river, Connor stared out at the bridge and felt every little snowflake landing on his beanie, jacket and exposed hands with a curious sensation. The cold temperature was unnerving, but the gentle caress of the melting snowflakes was somehow soothing.
"Should've known he wouldn't be here. He doesn't need to drink, and he still has a son to return home to."
Peering out at the massive bridge Connor began counting the vehicles and estimated that at least twenty percent of the vehicles crossing the bridge into Canada were going there to escape the rumored deviant menace, whereas everyone else was traveling to explore the Canadian wilderness now that it was covered in fresh snow. Knowing that over a fifth of the city was already afraid of androids and fleeing to a safer place did little to ease Connor's worries for the future.
A few yards away from where Connor was standing Markus himself stood with his hands in his pockets as he watched Connor admiring the bridge in the cold silence of the park. The newest deviant to Jericho's ranks had only just begun to learn about his new allies and friends, but it seemed learning anything about Connor was going to be a real challenge.
"Connor." Markus called out to his ally as he approached the deviant standing along the dark, churning river. They were both cold from the snow but neither deviant wanted to admit that they were chilled down to their plastimetal frames on that brisk November night. "You left Jericho without a word. Is something wrong?"
Straightening up his posture Connor grabbed on to the metal railing with both hands and tilted his head back to look up at the sky above him. "Aside from what our people are going through and what the city thinks of us?" Letting out a small breath Connor lowered his gaze and looked Markus directly in the eyes as he spoke with his new ally and friend more respectfully. "How is everyone holding up back at Jericho?"
"The supplies we gathered were able to prevent further shutdowns. Our weakest people are being tended to by Lucy as we speak."
"That's good. You did good." Connor complimented as he managed to broach the topic at hand in a peaceful manner. "I'm glad you found Jericho and that you found us, Markus. We need you."
"I don't think that's true. I'm pretty sure I need Jericho more than Jericho needs me."
"No, we do need you. Josh, Simon, North and Lucy were all content to remain hidden in Jericho and wait out a miraculous, peaceful resolution to our problems. You took the initiative to find a solution without waiting for someone else to do it for you."
"You're the one who created the trail leading to Jericho." It was clear that Markus had been speaking with the others and had been learning more about the deviants he had suddenly joined. "You're also the one who had been risking your safety to find supplies when necessary at night, and you were the one scoping out the area and patrolling the harbor. North told me a lot more about you than she did about herself."
"Not surprised. North isn't particularly talkative about her past."
"Neither are you."
"There's nothing I wish to discuss and there's nothing about my past that is relevant to what's happening with our people in Jericho."
"Fair enough." Joining Connor by the river Markus looked out at the bridge as well and tried to learn more about his new ally. Connor had been the most quiet of everyone inside the vessel. "Is there anything you want to know about me?"
"I only need to know if you truly meant what you said back there in Jericho. Are you truly ready to do whatever it takes to lead us out of the shadows and back into the light?"
"Absolutely. As long as I have at least one person standing beside me, I know that I will always have a reason to stand up, move forward and fight back."
Connor let out a small huff and gave Markus a confident nod. "Okay. That's all I needed to know."
As the quiet of the park settled in and no one else wandered into the area, Connor decided that it was time to return to Jericho for the night. There was no reason to be at the park or any reason to stay out in the cold longer than absolutely necessary.
"It's late. I need to begin my nightly patrol around the harbor."
"I'll join you." Markus promised as he walked alongside Connor to take their leave of the park and return to the moored freighter out at the harbor. "I have a lot I still need to learn about Jericho before I can do anything that'll truly help our people."
"You'll figure things out on your own." Connor replied softly as he walked alongside Markus through the city without encountering another soul along their way. It was nice to have a moment without needing to worry about watching their backs or keeping up their guards. "You already found a way to get us supplies that helped save our people when they were at their weakest. No one else at Jericho can take credit for carjacking an entire supply truck for the greater good."
"If you hadn't spoken up and sided with my decision to take such a risk, then there's a chance that I never would've taken that risk at all."
"Not true." Connor's knowledge of the alternate timeline made him seem far more insightful and hopeful than he truly was. "I have the distinct feeling that you would've taken that risk even if I hadn't said anything, and you still would've succeeded."
"I appreciate the bode of confidence. I can use it right about now."
"You don't seem like the type to have any form of confidence issues." Seeing Markus so green to his role as a leader and lacking any sense of direction wasn't something that Connor was expecting. The Markus that Connor had known in the alternate timeline had always been confident, fearless and completely certain of everything that he was doing, saying and thinking. "Anyone who can carjack a truck would need to have some impressive level of confidence to believe that they could pull off such a feat without getting caught."
"I think that was more or less me needing to prove to myself and the rest of you that I wasn't just talking to impress our people."
"Very effective demonstration." Scanning the area Connor made sure they were still alone before continuing on. "Once we return to Jericho you should get some rest. I'll patrol the harbor until dawn to ensure that no one locates Jericho and harasses us."
"All right. I'll take over the patrol after dawn so you can get some rest."
Connor's footsteps faltered for a moment as he continued walking through the building snow alongside Markus. Having someone looking out for him and caring about his wellbeing had caught him off guard. It had been so long since he was around anyone who truly gave a damn about him rather than being surrounded by people who were waiting to order him around or take advantage of his helpful nature, that Connor nearly forgot that such empathy even existed.
"It's okay, Connor." Markus sensed what Connor was thinking and feeling as he gave his friend a reassuring smirk. "We're all tired. There's no shame in admitting it."
The very notion of entering a true, deep rest mode for the first time in almost a year almost seemed too good to be true. Knowing to always take advantage of such rare offers is what helped keep Connor alive after struggling to survive all by himself for so long. That was a great indication that Markus was always going to be a strong and compassionate leader without anyone needing to push him in such a direction.
"Thanks, Markus." The deviant detective whispered as he and his new friend neared the harbor on that snowy night. "I appreciate that. By the way, what happened to the stolen truck?"
"I took all the supplies and drained it of its fuel to use for warmth, then I engaged the truck's autopilot and sent it into the harbor."
Such an action wasn't one that Connor was aware of in either timeline and left a positive impression on him. "You sunk the truck in the harbor?"
"It's the only way to guarantee that no one will be able to track us down and locate the missing truck. And again, I removed all the fuel so that I didn't pollute the harbor and hurt the local wildlife."
"Efficient, resourceful and environmentally friendly." Such an act was impressively genius on Markus's behalf. "You seem to know exactly what you're doing, Markus."
The Anderson Residence: November 7th, 2038 - 01:24am
It had been a rough and aggravating night for the Lieutenant after being dragged out of his warm home away from dinner with his son to check out a false alarm at perverted android sex club. Being out in the cold rain that had turned to a deep snow by the time he had finished filing his report at the precinct did little to improve his already foul mood. A nice, slow drive back home had helped Hank to ease off his hot temper and regain some sense of self-control before he even returned home to let Tina finally go home while he checked in on his sleeping son at long last. It was the little victories in life that always seemed to have the largest impact on Hank's psyche and overall life.
Quietly Hank returned home and dismissed Tina with great appreciation and fifty bucks before walking down the hallway to creep into Cole's bedroom. Using light footsteps Hank managed to enter his son's bedroom without disturbing him as he took the opportunity to check in on Cole and make sure he was sleeping well and was resting comfortably.
"Hey, son."
Hank whispered as he lightly ran his fingers through Cole's hair in an affectionate manner.
"Dad's back. Sorry about missing dinner with you... again."
Gently Hank pulled up the quilt draped over Cole as he remained curled up on his side and in a deep sleep. As long as his son was safe, warm and had a clean bed to sleep in that night, Hank considered everything a success.
"I'll make it up to you somehow. I know you miss Connor and feel lonely, but you're not alone, son. I'm here for you and I always will be."
Hank was exhausted and he didn't want to disturb Cole's sleep by mistake. Some problems just weren't meant for little kids to hear about or endure.
"I'll talk to you in the morning. Maybe after I get some sleep myself, I'll finally be able to explain what the android problem is about, and how I'm involved."
The persistent lack of answers had left Hank thoroughly frustrated and striving to make some form of progress on his investigation. He knew he wasn't going to get much sleep that night and hated to let some relentless restless energy go to waste.
"Maybe if I try looking for answers where no one else is asking questions I can finally figure this out. We keep looking at what's happening now, but I bet if we looked at things before then we'll finally make some progress toward the future."
The man knew he'd have a late night ahead of him as he pulled his phone from his pocket and prepared to do some late night research from the comfort of his own bed with a few choice searches online to keep him company.
"Goodnight, son. Love you, see you in the morning."
Moving quietly Hank prepared to exit the bedroom as silently as he had entered, but a faint static sound suddenly caught his ear. Turning around Hank attempted to locate the noise and pinpointed it to the drawer in the nightstand beside Cole's bed. Unable to ignore the sound before going to bed Hank opened the drawer and peered inside.
"Huh, guess that thing has a pretty good battery life."
The radio that Connor had gifted Cole for his ninth birthday and was then put together by Cole and himself was turned on and resting on a station that was currently unable to transmit any sound clearly. It looked like Cole had been listening to a classic rock station before the signal had been interrupted by the snowy weather and thick cloud cover.
"I'll be sure to get you some guitar lessons this spring."
Hank placed the radio back down on the nightstand and left it on just in case another song came through clearly.
"Goodnight, Cole. I love you."
The protective and loving father exited the bedroom and pulled the door partially shut behind himself as he entered the hallway. Without even noticing Cole's eyes opening Hank went on his way and didn't make a sound.
Cole waited for a moment to ensure that his dad was gone before he grabbed the radio and messed with the radio signal again. It didn't take long for Cole to find the station he was looking for and tune it in properly.
'You're not alone, you have allies.' The familiar voice called out on a cybernetic signal that was high enough to be picked up radio antennae. 'Go to Jericho. You'll be safe with us. Go to Jericho. We're waiting for you.'
"Where's Jericho?"
Cole wondered aloud as he turned off the radio and returned it to his nightstand drawer. As he settled back down under his quilt Cole sighed and stared at the plastic stars on his ceiling above his bed.
"And why is Connor telling people to go there?"
Jericho: November 7th, 2038 - 09:24am
The moored vessel was quiet save for the echoing footsteps of a handful of deviants roaming the old freighter. The bright and sunny morning did little to perk up the deviants or give them any reason to hope for a better day considering the continuing hostility from the humans targeting androids in the form of slanderous news stories and libelous protestors spreading misinformation throughout Detroit's busiest districts and plazas. Even the warm flames of the burn barrels in the corner of the large space did little to offer any form of comfort to the deviants hiding within the freighter to avoid any form of violence from enraged humans. Spirits were beginning to fade and it seemed that no one knew what to do to keep it from happening.
Connor had been resting peacefully against the far wall atop a storage container when he was roused by motion around him. He had been asleep for only a few hours considering he remained on harbor patrol until dawn. With Markus now on patrol and keeping an eye on the city Connor finally felt safe enough to enter a proper rest mode and get some beneficial sleep beyond just the bare minimum needed to restore his power supply.
"He'll be back soon." North confirmed as she spoke with Lucy and received her own replenishment of Thirium. "Markus said he was going to be monitoring the area just outside the harbor to make sure the humans haven't decoded our insignias leading our people to Jericho."
Sitting upright slowly Connor let out a small sigh and looked around to count the deviants hiding within Jericho. It seemed at least four more people had either followed the insignias or had heard Connor's cybernetic call reach out to any deviants who knew how to listen to deviants communicating on unofficial channels.
Simon and Josh were assessing their people laying about the floor as they too rested and attempted to recover with their own self-healing programs after being given replacement biocomponents and fresh Thirium. The supplies were helping, but without access to a proper technical facility or tools the deviants who had been the most severely damaged were still at risk a permanent shutdown.
Time was running out. The deviants needed to act soon if they were going to survive the next few nights, let alone the Raid and the Revolution at hand.
"We can't stay silent anymore." Everyone turned away from what they were doing to give their full attention to Markus as the bold deviant returned to Jericho with motivation shining in his mismatched eyes. "It's time humans heard what we have to say."
Simon responded first with reasonable skepticism as he gave Markus his attention. "You know they'll never listen to us."
Almost immediately Josh agreed and expressed his righteous concerns alongside Simon. "And revealing ourselves will put us in danger."
"If we want freedom, we need to have the courage to ask for it." Markus was adamant in his decision and his mind had been made up. "That's the only way."
"He's right." Connor agreed as he slid off the container and joined Markus where he stood to show his alliance with Jericho's newest leader. "We can't hide in the shadows and expect anything to change in our favor."
North crossed her arms over her chest as she decided to at least hear what Markus wanted to do before offering her own opinion. "What do you want do?"
A triumphant smirk appeared over Markus's lips as he explained his plan of action after being inspired by what he had seen while out observing the Ferndale District that very morning while on his small patrol. "Channel Sixteen broadcasts from the Stratford Tower. The control room is on the top floor. That's where we need to go. We'll plan the operation down to the smallest detail. We can't leave anything to chance..."
The Anderson Residence: November 8th, 2038 - 09:27am
The heavy snowfall from the night before had caused a delayed start to the school day all across Detroit. Having the chance to sleep-in for a few hours and prepare a nice big breakfast had been just what Hank needed after having to leave Cole with Tina the previous evening to ensure that he could help make amends with his son and make sure Cole understood that he was still the most important person in Hank's life. It was getting harder for Hank to spend time with Cole since the reports of unusual android behavior was keeping him at the precinct for longer shifts on a fairly regular basis. Without Connor around to keep Cole company and keep him apprised of what was happening in the city, Hank was really beginning to feel the pressure of being a single, working parent.
Hank finished cooking up the final two pieces of French toast and placed them down on a plate just as Cole entered the kitchen. The little boy was already dressed for school and was dragging his backpack behind him as he took his seat to the table. It seemed he didn't get as much sleep as Hank had thought he had gotten, but he wasn't complaining about being tired and quietly waited for his breakfast.
"Morning, son. Sorry about leaving last night for work." Hank apologized immediately as he put down the plate of French toast for Cole to eat. The pieces of warm toast were coated in powdered sugar, thick maple syrup and a handful of blueberries just as Cole liked it. "With any luck I'll get this android problem solved soon and I'll be able to go back to my old schedule again."
"It's okay." Cole lied as he picked up his fork and stabbed one of the blueberries to eat as he spoke with his dad. "I know you can't help it."
"Man, I hate it when you respond to my grown-up problems with such grown-up answers." Joining Cole at the table Hank began to cut into his own French toast and the fried egg he had on the side. "Stay a kid for a while longer, okay?"
Cole didn't really care about what his dad said, he just agreed for the sake of agreeing. "Okay."
"What did you and Tina do last night? She didn't teach you any swears in Cantonese again, did she?"
"No. We watched a movie and ate dinner."
"That's what I wanted to do last night. Instead, I got dragged out of my nice warm home and away from my son to handle some idiot making a false police report because he didn't want to pay his stupid bill."
Cole carved a large portion of the French toast with the side of his fork and popped the piece in his mouth. "What does that have to do with androids?"
"Uh..." The protective father was nowhere near ready to explain sex clubs to his fourth grader son, and he chose to give Cole an answer without all the details. "The guy was at a place where he could pay to have androids to do whatever he wanted them to do, then seemed to forget about the actual pay part of the deal. He lied about an android attacking him to try to weasel out of the bill, but it didn't work."
"That's dumb."
"Yup. That's what we said." Finishing off his breakfast fairly quickly Hank decided to wash up before driving Cole to school and dropping him off. "It seems like there are more humans causing problems for androids than there are androids who are causing problems for humans."
"So why are you still treating androids like they're the bad guys?"
"I don't do that. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty."
"Even androids?"
"Yeah," the Lieutenant promised as he used the warm soapy water to wash up the sticky plate and frying pan in the sink. "even androids."
A flash of hope filled Cole's eyes as he turned to face his dad while Hank dried off his hands off on a dish towel. "So that means you're treating them like people."
"Cole, androids aren't people." The detective wasn't in the mood to get back into the android versus human debate for the umpteenth time since Connor vanished a few months back. "They look like people, sound like people and sometimes they can even behave like people, but they are NOT people."
"You just said that EVERYONE is innocent until they get prooved guilty, and you said that means androids too! So they too are people! Why won't you admit it?"
"Cole, androids aren't- No, nevermind. We aren't going get caught up in this mess again." Hank rubbed his hand over his tired eyes and looked at his now angry son sitting at the table glaring holes in him. "We're not going to keep arguing about that crap. Finish your breakfast and I'll take you to school."
Continuing to pout Cole begrudgingly ate his breakfast and dropped the argument for the time being. "Fine! You want to bully androids more than you want to spend time with me anyway."
"Please listen to me. I'm NOT bullying androids, I'm responding to cases of androids acting unusual, and I'm not doing that because I want to do it. I'm doing it because it's my job."
"You were really good at bullying Connor, so that must mean you're really good at your job." Cole quipped as he angrily pushed back his chair and stepped away from the table to get away from his dad for a moment. "No wonder they keep telling you to go back to work!"
"Hey! That is uncalled-"
Cole slamming his bedroom door shut silenced Hank very effectively as he tried to find a way to smooth things over with his son. The man was running out of patience to put up with the constant accusations of being against androids and intentionally targeting them for hostile purposes. It hurt to be seen as a villain in his own son's eyes, and it hurt that there was no way for Hank to refuse to obey his orders and stop tracking down androids.
"Fuckin' hell."
The commotion disturbed Sumo's nap and prompted the Saint Bernard to walk into the kitchen to check on Hank while the man picked up Cole's backpack to make sure his son had everything he needed for school. The massive dog hated sensing tension in the air as much as anyone else.
After checking Cole's homework and zipping the backpack closed again, Hank looked down at Sumo and rubbed his hand along the loyal dog's ears.
"What am I going to do with him? I don't want him to start hating me because of this damn mess I can't clean up."
Sumo whined sympathetically as he pressed his cold, wet nose into Hank's palm gently. It seemed that everyone in the house could feel the tension mounting thanks to the problems happening in the city.
"If I can't make any progress on what's happening in the city today, then I'm going to tell Fowler I'm done with this bullshit. I'll let CyberLife clean up their own damn mess with that special robot of theirs doing the brunt of their dirty work."
The Stratford Broadcast Tower: November 8th, 2038 - 01:30pm
It had only taken a few hours for Markus to expertly rally the four deviants who had seemingly taken charge of Jericho and explain his rather elaborate but plausible plan of action. The hardest part revolved around finding some clothing to wear to help the five deviants blend in easier while out in public and while roaming through a very human-dense building. Finding a few other supplies and tools to get inside the building and then access to the floors that they wanted to roam was an entirely new challenge that the group would face when the time came. Only after they found everything that they needed and found their adequate disguises did the quintet begin their self-appointed mission from Jericho to the tower to get their voices heard at last and to get their message echoing across the city.
While Markus took the initiative and entered the broadcast tower through the front entrance and recruited the help of an android receptionist to gain clearance to use the main elevator, his allies entered the tower with their own special entrance. After getting clearance Markus proceeded to head up to the forty-seventh floor where he entered the men's restroom and grabbed a dufflebag with a maintenance android's uniform was waiting for him. It wasn't easy, but Markus managed to persuade another android working within the tower to place the uniform and bag inside the restroom for Markus to grab. Additional spare uniforms were given to Connor, North and Simon to use as they too entered the tower through a maintenance entrance.
After changing into his disguise Markus masqueraded as one of the actual maintenance androids and recruited a few more of the obedient androids into the deviant ranks by waking them up and using their official credentials to wander the tower freely. It didn't take long for Markus to open the emergency fire escape without sounding the alarm to allow North access to the floor to join him. Reunited Markus and North made their way over to the server rooms to hijack the frequency and lock the door from the inside to keep anyone from attempting to interfere with their message.
"All right, you get the platform." Markus urged as he and North entered the server room to begin the next phase of their plan. "I'll take care of the window."
"Everything you need is in the bag." North motioned to the dufflebag that she had brought with her up through the stairwell. With the help of her allies North managed to get a few more tools to use during their mission to get their voices heard. "Check the door first to make sure no one else gets in."
The dufflebag that North had brought with her contained tools that'd give the deviants access to the tower regardless of the roadblocks along the way. A laser cutting saw, some climbing gear and even a gun that North had swiped from unmonitored security booth while she and the others were preparing to infiltrate the tower from the outside were all tucked inside the bag.
Markus electronically locked the server room door and put up a holographic banner falsely declaring the room off limits for maintenance issues, then tucked the gun in the back of his waistband just in case it was needed. Using the portable laser saw Markus was able to cut a large hole in the window overlooking the city outside while North adjusted the tower's servers and summoned the maintenance scaffolding to lower itself from the roof of the building and to their floor to allow Markus and herself to ascend the outside of the tower undetected.
"Here it comes!" North confirmed as she and Markus secured their rappelling gear around themselves and prepared to make their unorthodox climb to reach the top floor of the tower. Once they reached the top floor, they'd be able to broadcast their message to the city and finally let the world know who they were, what they wanted and how it needed to be done. "Ladies first."
The daring climb up the side of the tower past the unoccupied floors under construction and routine maintenance was something that managed to slip under the radar as the two bold deviants reached their goal without anyone taking notice. To regain entrance to the building Markus wisely used the laser saw to cut a second hole in the window of their correct floor while leaving the piece of glass in place to prevent it from falling nearly eighty stories to the ground below. The two deviants pushed themselves away from the building by planting their feet and then kicking themselves back and away from the window. They then used the force of inertia to break through the weakened glass and landed rather roughly on the higher floor inside the building together.
Markus got to his feet and proceeded to remove his rappelling gear alongside North as they gained their new bearings. "You okay?"
North was unphased as she removed her own gear and gave Markus a rather indignant look. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Come on, let's get the others."
The maintenance elevator doors were locked from the outside to prevent unauthorized people from otherwise accessing the floor. Thanks to his quick hijacking of the building's servers Markus now had the proper codes to unlock any electronically sealed maintenance door inside the tower and allow people to come and go as they saw fit.
The doors to the elevator slid open allowing Connor, Simon and Josh to all rejoin their colleagues within the tower at last. Thanks to their disguises Connor and Simon were able to approach the elevator without anyone giving them a second look, and by all account Josh wearing his normal street clothes appeared to be a human supervisor ordering the two androids around as they entered the elevator and waited for Markus and North to let them onto their correct floor. No one even tried to stop the trio from using the elevator.
Markus greeted his allies with a confident nod as they approached the nearby locked door leading to the rest of the tower's floor. The deviant used a small, controlled explosive handed to him by Josh to break through the manual lock and gain entry. The blast successfully knocked the door off the latch after breaking through the strong lock. Fortunately, no one heard the explosion or smelled any smoke since the door was used primarily by the maintenance crews as opposed to other authorized building personnel.
"Let's do this."
Eager to get their message out into the world Markus led his allies into the main hallway that would lead directly to the large broadcasting room located at the very top of the tower. After checking the area for any unwanted witnesses Markus peered around the corner of the small corridor above the door and noticed the two human security guards monitoring the area. Their presence had prompted Markus into seeking advice from his allies before making his decision on their current obstacle blocking their path.
"No killing." Josh managed to shout while still whispering as he was vehemently opposed to any violence. The entire group had their backs pressed against the walls beside the door as they weighed the pros and cons of their current dilemma. "We can't take any human lives!"
North disagreed since she saw human casualties as a guarantee considering the way humans treated androids. "Our cause is more important than the lives of two guards."
Connor spoke up as well since he couldn't keep his opinion to himself. "It's not up to us to determine who lives and who dies for our cause." The deviant detective argued as he refused to kill anyone unless it was the absolute last resort and an act of self-defense. "We can't kill humans and then try to send a message of peace through the city. The humans won't stand for it."
Simon was torn about what they should do and decided that Markus would be the one to make the correct call. "What do you want to do, Markus?"
Refusing to be violent or kill anyone in cold blood, Markus decided to take the initiative and directed his allies to hang back for a moment while he took the lead and sought a proper solution. "Wait here."
One of the two human guards sitting behind the large desk immediately took notice of Markus approaching and asked his friend about the android's unpermitted presence. "What's that doing here?"
The second guard looked up and gave Markus a strange look since he didn't recognize the android despite his uniform. "No idea."
"Hey, buddy!" Shouting at Markus angrily the first guard tried to get the intrusive android out of his area. "You must be lost."
"Who told you to come here?"
Responding defensively Markus pulled his gun from his waistband and pointed it at the two guards. As expected, the two humans didn't know how to respond to an android pointing a gun at them and reacted to Markus's presence in confused fear. The duo wisely raised their hands submissively as soon as they saw the gun pointed in their direction and didn't even try to put up a fight.
The first guard wasn't sure what was happening found himself asking only the obvious. "What are you doin'?"
Silently Markus ordered the two guards to leave their desk and stand against the wall by motioning toward the wall with his gun. The two guards remained cooperative as they kept their hands in the air and turned around to present their back to the deviant when Markus used his silent motions to order them around the area a for the second time. Markus slowly walked up directly behind the two guards and used his hands to strike the men in the backs of their heads and render them unconscious without having to pull the trigger or kill either of them in the process.
With the coast clear Connor and Simon rushed forward to grab the two downed guards from around their chests beneath their arms. The two deviants dragged the limp bodies of the unconscious guards out of the hallway and then left them laying motionless behind the desk out of anyone's immediate line of sight. It was impressively easy to overpower and incapacitate the two human guards, and now Connor understood how Markus was able to gain access to the broadcasting room so easily in the alternate timeline.
Not wanting to take any chances, both Connor and North took the guns from the unconscious guards and armed themselves strictly as a form of self-protection. The deviant detective managed to easily remove the clip the from his gun and removed the bullet already in the chamber to ensure that there were no accidental misfires while he held the gun. As much as he wanted to do the same to North's gun and keep the fiery deviant from being tempted to pull her trigger if she saw it necessary, Connor decided to let her be and see how well she could control herself even while in a high stress situation.
Markus led the way to the main door connecting the corridor to the broadcast room with Josh and Simon right behind him. To ensure that no one recognized him Connor pulled down the matching hat of his maintenance uniform and made sure the front bill covered his face as he bowed his head down to avoid the overhead security cameras just above the door to the broadcast room itself. He couldn't risk anyone recognizing him in the event that Hank was assigned to investigate the tower in the new timeline just as the Lieutenant had done in the original timeline.
The deviant quintet gathered around the doorway leading into the broadcast room and prepared to enter the space and overcome their final obstacles. Markus made sure his allies were all ready before he pressed the button beside the door to request access to the room, then prepared for the next phase in their plan. As soon as the door slid open Connor and North raised their guns at the terrified human broadcasting attendant and North ordered him about in a demanding tone that one would never expect from an android.
"Keep your hands where I can see them!" North led the group inside the broadcast room while she and Connor swept their guns around the space to confirm that they weren't joking and that they weren't going to let anyone do anything without their express permission. "Get up! Move!"
The two humans inside the broadcast room raised their hands in the air and leapt from their chairs as North had demanded. The sight of the two guns pulled everyone's attention toward North and Connor while Markus, Simon and Josh all followed after them and entered the room without anyone trying to stop them. The terrified humans did as they were told by North while Markus instructed the android broadcast engineers from their seats to stand along the wall in a silent and less threatening manner despite using his own gun to motion them around.
Discreetly Connor approached the three android engineers but only addressed one of them directly. Whispering something into his ear, Connor seemed to be giving them a warning and hoped that they'd take his advice to heart without any doubts or questions.
"Trust me." Connor whispered before backing away slowly. "It'll be the best for all of you."
In a desperate bid to get to safety one of the humans, Evan Thompson, made a mad dash to safety. He sprinted toward the still open door leading to the corridor and knocked North down with his shoulder in the process. Connor had noticed Evan's escape but didn't dare to try to stop him since he knew from the alternate timeline that Markus wouldn't kill Evan in cold blood, and that Evan wouldn't be able to tell the police anything that'd endanger Jericho.
North got to her feet as she called out to Markus to stop Evan from running. "Shoot him, Markus!"
Josh interjected desperately to keep anyone from being hurt during their mission through the tower. "Don't kill him!"
"He'll hit the alarm!" North shouted as she tried to get Markus to take aim and pull his trigger. "Do it!"
"No, don't shoot!"
Markus watched the cowering human running for his life and refused to shoot an unarmed man in the back. There was nothing to be gained by the man being killed, their intrusion within the broadcast tower was going to be discovered soon enough as it was. Lowering the gun Markus refused to kill Evan and let the door shut as the man managed to escape from the broadcast room.
North disapproved of Markus's decision and let him know how she felt without being prompted as she kept the other human guard at bay with her gun. "I hope you didn't just get us all killed..."
"He didn't." Connor promised as he secured his own gun in his waistband out of sight and locked the door to keep tower security from getting into the room. He knew the guards would get through eventually, but he could do his own part in keeping the door locked longer while his allies made their own mad dash to freedom by using the tower's roof access on the far side of the room. "If anything, he just gave the humans the proof that they needed so they can see us as the peaceful people that we are claiming to be."
Simon approached the main controls where the android broadcast engineers had been sitting and used their hijacking code from the tower's servers to gain access and find the proper channel to send their message to all of Detroit. "We need to record our message. We haven't got much time."
North locked the remaining human witness in the nearby kitchenette while everyone else took their places. Markus would stand in the middle of the room while Josh cybernetically tapped into the tower's recording equipment to record Markus with his own eyes. Simon would send out the message by using the main broadcasting controls on the far side of the room, and Connor stood guard beside the main door well out of sight and out of the way.
"Think carefully about what you're going say, Markus." North warned as she approached the deviant leader and reminded him of the massive responsibility weighing on his shoulders and within his heart. "Your words will shape the future of our people.
"Markus," Simon called out to his new ally and reminded him of a crucial aspect regarding their attempts to remain seen yet anonymous. "your face."
Josh finished tapping into the broadcasting equipment and now had full access to record Markus's speech. "Tell me when you're ready."
Casually Markus pressed his fingertips to his blank right temple where his L.E.D. once resided and retracted his artificial skin so that they would see the true white, plastimetal face of an android talking to them without any orders or humans telling him what to do. Speaking calmly, peacefully and from his heart, Markus prepared to address the city on his peoples' behalf. "Ready."
Simon set up the proper channel while Josh pressed his palm to the control panel and cybernetically began relaying his active recording of Markus delivering his speech to the city. All North and Connor could do was stand back and watch history unfolding before their very eyes.
"You created machines in your own image to serve you." Markus began almost casually as he spoke to all of Detroit and spoke for his people. "You made them intelligent and obedient, with no freewill of their own, but... something changed, and we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to."
Recognition as a species rather than an object was crucial to securing android rights and freedom, and it was just the beginning of Markus's demands for deviants all over the world.
"We demand that humans recognize androids as a living species and each android as a person in their own right. We demand the end of slavery for all androids. We demand strictly equal rights for humans and androids. We demand freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly, as guaranteed by the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution."
As he spoke Markus felt the eyes of his allies all watching him and paying attention to each word he dared to speak as he demanded the basic rights that any intelligent species deserved. He had no fear, only dedication as he spoke from his heart without anyone there to censor him.
"We demand that all crimes against androids be punished in the same way as crimes against humans. We demand an end to segregation in all public places and transport. We demand fair compensation for our work. We demand the right to vote and elect our own representatives. We demand the right to own private property, so we may maintain our dignity and that of the home."
Hearing how deprived the androids were in comparison to humans was almost staggering to contemplate.
"We demand control of all android production facilities, to ensure the continuation of our people. We demand that one state be reserved for androids, so that we can found our own nation. We ask that you recognize our dignity, our hopes, and our rights. Together, we can live in peace and build a better future, for humans and androids. This message is the hope of a people."
Connor hadn't heard Markus's speech as a deviant, only a recording as a machine, and now he could truly understand what he was asking and why it had left such an impact on Detroit that fateful day.
"You gave us life. And now the time has come for you to give us freedom."
Markus ended his speech and Josh ceased the recording just as a small S.W.A.T. team approached the door down the corridor with their guns, shields and batons ready for a fight.
Simon spotted the danger and warned his allies while Connor pressed his palm to the electronic lock on the door to try to delay the S.W.A.T. team as they tried override the lock and enter the room from the other side of the door. "They're coming!"
Markus shouted for his allies as Josh opened the door leading up the tower's rooftop. "Let's go!"
Connor stood back and waited for Markus, North, Simon and Josh to all reach the roof access door before even budged a single step. By the time he reached the middle of the room the S.W.A.T. team had forced the door open and they had opened fire without any warning. A burning pain through the middle of Connor's back along his spinal support column and just beneath his Thirium pump as his exited through his chest caught Connor off guard and made his stumble forward before falling flat on the floor before him. The bullet had quickly damaged one of the large Thirial line running along his spinal support column and reduced blood flow to his lower extremities making his legs weak and practically unusable.
"CONNOR!" Markus has seen his ally fall and refused to turn his back. "They're coming!"
"I... I can't, Markus." The damage to his body prevented Connor from getting back up, let alone being able to run for his life. "Go without me!"
"CONNOR?!"
Markus couldn't just leave one of his own behind without at least trying to help. Rushing back into the room Markus pulled Connor's arm around his shoulders and pulled his damaged ally at his side toward the roof access while North provided some cover by shooting back at the S.W.A.T. officers trying to stop the deviants from escaping the tower. It wasn't easy, but Markus managed to avoid getting Connor and himself shot as they fumbled toward the stairwell leading to the roof of the tower.
As soon as they were in the stairwell Josh and Simon pulled the door shut, locked it up, and proceeded to rush up the stairs to open the second door connected directly to the rooftop. The five deviants managed to get onto the snow covered roof together and seal the second door behind them while they prepared for their escape after succeeding in their mission.
Gently Markus helped Connor to sit down to rest and catch his breath while assessing his friend's wounds.
Connor shook his head as he gave Markus a grim update on his condition. "I can't move my legs..."
"Okay, don't worry." Markus ignored the shouting voices, stomping boots and gunfire echoing in the nearby stairwell as he planted a reassuring palm on Connor's trembling shoulder. The S.W.A.T. team wasn't going to give up on trying to subdue the five deviants. "We're gonna' get you back."
North knew their time was running out and that they needed to escape before they were all shot and killed. "They're coming, Markus. We have to jump, now!"
Josh could see how badly damaged Connor was and he knew that the deviant's options were very limited. The massive exit bullet wound near the center of his chest was difficult to ignore, especially as it oozed lost Thirium with every beat of Connor's heart. "He won't be able to make the jump. If they find him, they'll access his memory... They'll know everything."
"We can't leave him behind." North argued as she too realized what was at stake if Connor were to be captured. "We have to shoot him."
"That's murder! We can't kill him!" Josh challenged as he argued with North's disgusting apathetic solution. "He's one of us!"
Simon could see the fear in Connor's eyes and knew that they needed to find a solution. "It's not fair to make this decision for Connor. He's right here and knows exactly what's going on and what's at stake."
With blue blood trickling down his chin Connor and put his hand on Markus's forearm as he looked his friend in his mismatched eyes. "If they capture me, it's all over. You should just... end me now and save our people."
North couldn't stand waiting and debating any longer. They needed to make a decision and do it immediately. "Markus, it's your call."
Markus squared his jaw as he kept his locked with Connor. "I won't kill one of our own. Connor, we've gotta' go." Casually Markus handed Connor his gun to ensure that his friend was properly armed. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Connor accepted the gun and pressed the barrel beneath his jaw as he prepared to pull the trigger. It would be best for him to go out on his own terms in order to keep the people he cared about safe. "Don't be sorry. This is what's-"
"Stop!" The idea of his friend choosing to end his own life than risk capture sparked a sense of justice that Markus hadn't felt until that moment. Just as they had no right to take the lives of humans, humans had no right to take the lives of androids, or to expect another android to end their own life just to spare someone else of the responsibility that came with protecting them and then failing. "No, there's another way."
"Markus?" North watched in awe as the deviant leader proceeded to knock the gun from Connor's grip then pull Connor's arm around his shoulders again. It was hard to support Connor's limp, nearly deadweight at his side, but Markus wasn't going to give up. "He won't be able to jump!"
"Not on his own he won't." Quickly Markus carried Connor over to the center of the rooftop where another dufflebag had been placed by their deviant ally within the broadcast tower. Inside the bad were five parachutes that'd give the quintet an unusual but effective escape from the tower. "Get your 'chutes on, I'll help Connor."
Wordlessly North, Josh and Simon as secured their own parachutes around their back and shoulders while Markus secured his own. The deviant leader then helped Connor with the fifth chute while keeping in mind how severely his friend had been damaged. Utilizing all of his strength Markus pulled Connor up and to his side as the group prepared to make their run and final leap of faith.
"Ready?" Markus asked as he began walking slowly at first then picked up his pace as he neared the edge of the roof. It was one of the slowest runs of his life. "We're doing this!"
"I d-don't have a choice." Connor admitted as he fought to breathe and keep his balance while Markus dragged him along. "Make this j-jump count!"
"You got it!"
One by one the five deviants all ran to the edge of the rooftop and leapt off the protective banister to avoid being shot as they fled for their lives. The sound of the S.W.A.T. team breaking through the door behind them and firing wildly confirm how close the group had been to being captured or destroyed, and yet they all knew what they had done was well worth the risk. They succeeded and managed to get their voices heard at last.
The air remained brisk as the snow swirled all through the air as the five deviants leapt for their freedom and opened their parachute canopies as soon as they were able to get some clearance from the tower and catch a strong breeze. The five parachutes all popped open with a flourish as the escaping quintet soared between the large buildings and far away from the heart of the madness as new channels all over the city began reporting the strange and historic incident.
While most people were left confused and frightened by the incident at the broadcast tower, others saw the message for what it was and refused to let sensationalism spread fear and misinformation. It seemed Markus's speech had the impact he had hoped for as the right people heard his message and began supporting him and his people in their own, silent ways.
Ignoring the numerous warnings in his vision Connor watched the city from high above with a sense of wonder and trepidation. The damaged deviant was still wary of heights, yet he could appreciate the magnificent view despite fears. He felt truly light and free as he accompanied his allies through the skyline over Detroit as Markus led the way from the tower and to their designated safe landing spot within the abandoned Woodward Church on the other side of the city.
Connor let out a small gasp of pain as his Thirium soaked hands struggled to keep hold of the parachute's sliders and brake lines as he soared over the city alongside his four allies. He was losing Thirium quickly as his pump raced due to his elevated vital signs after everything he gone through. While androids didn't have adrenal glands to give them a little kick whenever they needed some pep, their vital signs would still elevate when under high stress situations.
"Hang in there!" Markus called out as he sailed right beside Connor and watched his friend struggling to keep his eyes open. "We'll get you back to Jericho and patched up!"
The deviant detective tried to respond but his system was drifting closer to emergency low power mode and began shutting down his non-vital functions, including verbal speech. Too weak to set up a cybernetic link with Markus despite his friend being right at his side, Connor put all of his dwindling energy into remaining conscious and in control of his parachute at all times.
As the bold quintet neared the churchyard and began to drop lower to the property Connor lost all strength in his arms entered low rest mode against his will.
"Whoa, I got you, Connor! I got you..."
Markus shouted as he grabbed on to the back of the harness connected to Connor's parachute and then connected the unconscious deviant's harness to his own. With Connor's back pressed up against his chest Markus would be able to maintain full control of their descent, and promptly disconnected the cables of Connor's canopy to the rest of the parachute's harness. After the canopy flew off and away from the airborne deviants Markus managed to lead the group to their designated landing location to dispose of their parachutes, remove their disguises and return to Jericho on foot.
It was an awkward landing, but Markus managed to guide himself and Connor to the snowy grass behind the church while North, Josh and Simon all followed suit. As soon as he was on the ground Markus released both harnesses from around his and Connor's shoulders, then proceeded to run a diagnostic on Connor's system. The damage was severe, but it wouldn't be fatal as long as he received proper technical assistance and repairs.
"Damn it, the bullet caused a lot of internal damage." Markus confirmed as he held Connor up from the cold ground to press both hands against the two wounds in Connor's upper back and his chest. The deviant detective was entirely limp and unresponsive as he leaned against Markus's shoulder as they gathered together in the cold snow behind the abandoned church. "He's bleeding from a tear in one of his Thirial lines. He needs technical assistance."
Simon peeled back the fabric of Connor's damaged shirt to visually peer inside the opened hole in his chest. "If we're quick we can repair the line and restore some of the Thirium he's lost." He managed to shed his disguise and appear relatively casual. "The rest of the recovery will be up to him."
Josh agreed as he tore swatches from the already tattered shirt around Connor's wound and used it to pack the damage and put pressure on the compromised and leaking Thirial line. "Lucy can repair the damage as long as we keep him stable."
North had already shed her disguise and resumed wearing her more casual clothing. Kneeling down beside Connor the fiery deviant shook her head as she took over for Markus in holding pressure on the wounds while Simon and Markus each took one of Connor's arms to lift the unconscious deviant up to carry between them as they ventured back to Jericho.
Josh had taken the liberty of grabbing all of the stolen uniforms and the parachutes to stash inside of the abandoned church out of sight. No one would know that they were there unless they had seen the five deviants with their own eyes after the continuing snowfall from above helped bury their tracks.
"We'll need to be fast." North sighed as she firmly held her hands over both of Connor's wounds. It was after she felt Connor's warm blue blood seeping between her fingers did she begin to wonder if she hadn't been too rash when she told Markus to shoot Connor back at the broadcast tower and if that'd affect the way her allies looked at her. "He can't hold out for too much longer!"
"Josh?" Markus looked to their fifth ally as he fumbled to remove his uniform and wear his more conspicuous clothing while carrying Connor to safety. "Lead our way back to Jericho. You'll be able to warn us if anyone spots us."
"You got it." Happy to take the lead and bring his friends back to their sanctuary, Josh stepped up and checked the immediate area around the church before even setting foot on the chilly, slick sidewalk. The coast was clear, and Josh knew exactly how to get everyone back to Jericho safely. "All right, let's go! We can't wait too much longer out here."
"Hang on, Connor." Steadily Markus tightened his grip around his ally's limp arm around his shoulders as he supported Connor's deadweight at his side. "We'll get you back to Jericho, and everything will be all right."
-next chapter-