November 9th 2038…
The freezing wind stung Leah's eyes as she and Connor located the captain's cabin of Jericho and hid… and saw North walk away before Connor closed his eyes, finding himself in the Zen Garden and seeing Amanda.
"Well done, Connor. You've succeeded in locating Jericho and finding their leader. Now deal with Markus. We need it alive." Amanda explained.
Connor opened his eyes, looking at Leah… and he switched the safety of the gun on before they walked into the cabin.
Looking outside at the river and freighters, Markus was rethinking every decision he had made… until he heard "We've been ordered to take you alive." and turned as Leah pulled the hood of her coat down, Connor keeping her from grabbing her gun and mouthing "Follow my lead, Babe." before he turned back to Markus with the gun aimed at him.
"But I won't hesitate to shoot if you give me no choice." Connor responded.
"I don't even want to know how you talked her into finding me but you'll have to shoot, because I have no intention of letting you take me alive." Markus explained.
"In that case, I won't bother asking what happened to the Markus that I knew." Leah responded, Connor and Markus knowing that she was hurt by what Markus had said… and Connor turning to Markus.
"That's how you speak to a woman who's been like a little sister to you?!" Connor replied, Markus knowing that Connor was angry.
"I couldn't reach out to Leah for her own safety. I didn't want a war." Markus responded. "We are your people. We're fighting for your freedom too." He spoke directly to Connor as he carefully approached.
Connor didn't speak, keeping the gun aimed at Markus with his right hand and holding Leah's right hand in his left hand.
"Have you never wondered who you really are? Whether you're just a machine executing a program or… a living being. Capable of reason. I think the time has come for you to ask yourself that question." Markus explained.
Connor kept the gun aimed while he was torn between switching the safety off and keeping it on… and one look into Leah's blue eyes made him realize what he had subconsciously known.
Connor lowered the gun and put it away before he looked at Markus as Leah closed her eyes and breathed a relieved sigh… but that relief was only temporary when Leah heard "They're going to attack Jericho." and her eyes shot open as Markus's eyes went wide... and they heard the deafening noise of the FBI helicopters.
"We have to get out of here!" Connor replied frantically as he grabbed onto Leah's left hand and the three ran out of the cabin and into the freighter corridors, finding North.
"They're coming from all sides! Our people are trapped in the hold, they're gonna be slaughtered!" North explained in panic, Markus putting two of his fingers to his right temple and closed his eyes.
"There are exits on the second and third floor. Find them and jump in the river!" Markus responded telepathically to the androids fleeing the freighter before he opened his eyes. "Where's Simon and Josh?" He asked.
"I don't know, we got separated." North responded frantically.
"They're coming from the upper deck now too. We'll be caught in the crossfire!" Markus replied.
"We have to run, Markus! There's nothing we can do!" North responded frantically.
"I saw explosives earlier…" Leah spoke before she could stop herself.
"We have to blow up Jericho. If the ship goes down, they'll evacuate and our people can escape!" Markus explained.
"You'll never make it! The explosives are all the way down in the hold, there are soldiers everywhere!" North responded in protest, trying to persuade Markus not to blow up the freighter.
"Go and help the others, Baby Girl. I won't be long." Markus whispered before they let go and Leah ran off with Connor and North as Markus ran in the other direction.
Leah screamed as two bullets hit her kevlar vest and one grazed her right shoulder, Connor shooting and killing the soldiers as North helped Leah up and held her upright as they followed Connor and found Simon and Josh.
"What happened to her?" Simon asked.
"Soldiers shot her." North explained before she turned to Leah. "You're gonna be okay, we'll get your injured biocomponents fixed." She responded softly as Leah was completely disoriented from the cold and blood loss.
When Markus found them, the group jumped out of the freighter and into the river… and Leah blacked out as soon as she plunged into the freezing water…
Present time...
Leah coughed up water as Connor got her to open her eyes and helped her sit up and stand up, North smiling gratefully.
"You're alive! Hey, you really saved our lives back there by mentioning the explosives." North responded.
"Had to... look, I..." Leah replied as she was guarding her right shoulder with her left hand, flinching as North tried to move her hand.
"I'm sure it's not a bad injury to your biocomponents, let me just…" North responded.
But the second North had moved Leah's hand, she saw red blood and was completely taken aback… and Connor caught Leah from falling, grabbing his tie from his jacket and tying it around Leah's wound to stop the bleeding before he picked her up into his arms.
"I'll explain it once we've found somewhere safe." Markus responded to North before the group fled the area.
At an abandoned church, North found a few blankets and pillows in a closet that was surprisingly structurally sound and Simon managed to get a fire started as Connor helped Leah pull off her wet clothes and Markus wrapped a blanket around Leah and helped her sit down.
Examining Leah's shoulder, Markus grabbed a discarded metal pole that had been sharpened by Josh and held it over the fire as Leah turned paler than she already was and Connor carefully held her.
"Look away, Sweetheart…" Connor whispered, Leah doing so and closing her eyes as Markus cauterized the wound and bandaged it with a medkit that Simon had found.
North saw tears run down Leah's face and reached out, holding her left hand.
She had never seen a human so terrified… and North felt horrible for Leah.