Two Days Later . .

Connor did not even glance toward Kara or Alice. He shouldn't even recognize them as anyone that he wanted to bother to interact with. He should act, as a machine, like they weren't even there.

No one fussed with them. Except?

He was only ignoring them on the outside. While Connor started to research papers, he was also carrying a conversation as well as a game with Kara and Alice.

B2, Connor?

Miss.

B2 in Bingo, not Battleship.

Still miss, Alice.

C3.

Miss in both, Kara.

There is no C in Bingo, Connor.

Which means you miss in both. Conner hid his smile. It was actually quite fun. Humans couldn't carry on multiple tasks at once, but he was working, downloading data, and playing battleship screens and bingo screens for fun with Kara and Alice.

On the outside, no one could even tell he was doing anything. Kara and Alice kept it similar too.

"Three androids, hanging around for two whole days," Gavin said as he passed Hank. "Quite a collector. Do any of them feel jealous of each other yet, like puppy dogs?"

"Don't you have any work to do?" Hank commented. "I'm busy."

Besides Gavin, no one had really bothered them. Connor kept looking for leads while playing Tic Tac Toe. It turned out that game didn't go very far with three androids playing it. Same with checkers and chess. "There is no new deviant information popping up, Hank." Kara, Hank will want to go to the store before we go home, do you have data on what to approach him with?

I do.

—

Supermarket

"This is better for you," Kara commented as she held up an avocado to Hank at the supermarket.

"It's good, on a burger already," Hank said as he headed to another aisle.

Kara and Alice, since they were his ESA's, should normally be watching for his welfare in nutrition too. Connor was the only one who looked odd being there, but he tried to stay near too. He turned the corner with Alice and Hank.

Hank needs something that is better for him. He wasn't into avocados, but she could get something else. Maybe a tomato? He could even add fresh tomato to his-

"This one's better?" A man gave her another tomato. "Trust me?"

Kara just smiled to be polite and looked at the tomato. The one she had before was actually better, but she wasn't going to make any scene with a human in any way. "Thanks."

"Yes, no problem," he answered. "So, out shopping?"

Okay, time to end the time with the human and get going back to Hank. She grabbed a small bag and placed it in there. "Yes. Thank you again." She walked off and went around the other corner to catch up with Hank. She dropped the tomato in the cart. "You can at least add some of that each time you have a burger."

Hank groaned.

"A fresh tomato is good for you and it usually tastes better than what they have on your favorite burgers," Kara reminded him as she looked around the next aisle.

"I already got some green bean cans in here by little Al," Hank complained as he saw Alice put in some corn too. "No, not corn."

"More green beans then?" Alice asked.

"I think Hank is good with the green beans already," Connor insisted. "The tomato too was helpful, even though I doubt he will actually add it to his favorite burger."

"I'll add it, Connor, if I'm at home when I eat my burger," Hank complained. "Which, I won't be."

Kara and Alice's inner sense left them needing to do what they could for Hank. Not doing anything felt like an itch they couldn't scratch.

In fact, Kara sensed someone was at her back? She looked behind her and saw the person who helped her with the tomato before. He smiled at her, oddly? He just chuckled and waved at all of them.

"Uh? Yeah, sure," Hank said nonplussed as he also waved. "Nice meeting you. To the meat."

"Something with a little less fat content on the hamburger," Kara insisted. Still, she glanced backward at the human. Strange they had met twice. Most humans don't just help or wave out of the blue. It could be a very lonely human?

Connor seemed to be looking back at the other human too, but didn't say anything. He walked after them, waiting for Kara to walk first.

That person stopped to show me which tomato to pick, Kara told him. Then they just happened to poke my back and want to wave to everyone?

Most humans go right by each other without saying anything if they do not know each other. Connor looked back, like he wanted to make sure the human was gone. "Stay closer, Kara."

He felt a little familiar, but I've never met him.

Maybe you have? You don't remember everything since your creation. Connor stayed right behind her. "We should go ahead and check out."

"After I get some meat," Hank told Connor. "I came for meat but I got sidetracked because of these girls."

Connor didn't say anything back. Kara noticed he was still looking backward every once in awhile. He was less there in his presence, and more there in an informational analyzing of data sense.

It didn't make Kara feel good. She kept her hand on the cart, seeing Alice on the other side, and Hank pushing it. Kara started to use her own analyzing data, but she didn't see anything out of the normal.

Connor seemed to snap out of it. "Probably more of those labels, Hank. Less fat is better."

"More fat is cheaper," Hank countered him. "Can't say that isn't true."

It's like watching a slow, painful wreck with him, Kara said to Connor. Not one dent.

We try. As annoying as we are to him, someone caring for him does make him feel better. Connor smiled at her. I thought you and Alice being his ESA's would be bad for him, but you've done fine the last two days. You really do make an excellent caregiver.

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" Hank complained as Alice tried to give him some veggie burgers. "That will kill me faster than anything else. That is not going in the cart."

"No veggie burgers," Kara agreed as Alice tried again. "We've tried it before. You can't force things on people, Alice. Plus, he is the one eating it."

"It will just go bad and waste food," Connor agreed with Kara. "Compromising is your greatest strength as an ESA." He bent down lower. "It's also really good to learn for friends to compromise too, okay?"

Kara watched them together. Connor was great with Alice. Even though the ESA sounded nice to say as a machine, he made it sound much more appreciative by adding friends in it, just for her to hear at a lower level.

He liked to cover both avenues, for those listening to them as machines, and for her as a living being.

"Shouldn't waste food," Hank agreed. "Bad for the environment so no getty." He grabbed a huge chunk of steak. "I want this, but bad for my bank account, so also no getty." He put it back down. "This one."

Kara looked at the label. Not the best, but not the worst in the group either. "Great choice."

"Yeah, I guess." Hank didn't do anything as Alice gave him a small hug. She knew better than to make it very long. "Now I'm ready. Let's go check out."

After they checked out, Kara and Connor gave the area one more small scan.

Should we believe it was just a human trying awkward communication? Kara settled with as she got into the car.

Connor got into the car. I never believe anything in the affirmative if I can't confirm it.

—-

Police Headquarters, next day.

Hank was crushing his hair on his head with an opened and closed fist, messing up his hair, but not caring.

Connor understood the feeling. They had tried to see if Hank could get to Josh at a University by connecting to some old family he had. Trying to get closer to family would be a good excuse for his therapy deal. Unfortunately, none of his extended family had any kids in college. Josh wouldn't be easy.

Simon, was apparently bought and sold, re-sold, and re-sold. His last whereabouts were hard to pinpoint. He had been kidnapped, and was under no one's name now. There was a good chance that Simon might have fell into deviancy already. No one had known where or when Simon had joined Jericho in the game.

Without Jericho, there was no telling if Simon was even alive.

North was in Eden Club. They could get North, Hank could get Kara there easily, but it didn't seem right to do that and leave her alone in Jericho alone for who knew how long? There was always trauma associated with becoming aware of one's own will. Connor couldn't guarantee she would act well if he simply left her in the dark alone.

Yet, he never wanted Kara or Alice to go to Jericho instead. He promised them Hank would be there, and he wouldn't break that promise.

Markus himself was easy, Carl Manfred was an easy person to talk to. Carl was also someone who seemed, upon further research and study, to appreciate Markus as an individual and not an android.

There were two ways to go, and Connor had to make a decision. His inability to want to choose, was making Hank go crazy with his hair. "Hank."

"You want RA9 fine, you want this then fine, you want that then fine, but you can't have all of it!" Hank was irritated, and trying to talk about it, without talking about it. "Two choices, Connor. RA9 and Al to J, and we take N. Or, we wake M, we wake N, and have CM watch them. We aren't getting J or S, maybe not even with a long game."

Connor stared ahead. "It's not easy, Hank."

"When you wake M, it'll fall out of your hands, I get it," Hank said. "There's no tricky way to get to J, and there's no way to even find S. In the game, Connor, did M ever meet CM later?"

Connor hated talking about the game with Hank. The visions. The good parts were okay, but seeing Hank bottom out or get taken out . . . because of him. When the future was bad, he didn't like to dwell on it. "On one part. When things didn't go well with his son."

"Was he swayed good or bad?" Hank asked. "Could CM help balance N?"

"No." Connor could barely hide his irritation. He had to, he was in the middle of the police department. But? "This is not a circle, x, triangle or square situation."

Hank looked irritated back at him. "We've done really good, Connor. Gettin' along real well with my other androids the last couple of days. Time's tickin' though. You were never able to play the long game, because you get pulled back into a recharge state for Cyberlife. If we don't make progress, there's a good chance Cyberlife won't let you play the long game."

"Yeah, I know." Yeah, that was irritation, he couldn't help it.

"When you don't have all your chips, then you get away with what you can," Hank said. "Worst possible scenario if this doesn't work, M messes up and you all go houdini. Worst scenario if you take too long? What's that gonna be, Connor?"

The best route is wait to get all the pieces. Connor looked at Hank. It looked like Cyberlife might have actually contacted him or told him something about letting him go? Hank was jumpy now. If Cyberlife yanks the plug on me soon. If I go, Kara and Alice won't last long with Hank. "It's not easy, Hank. One choice, always had extreme consequences. Everything changed because of one choice. Sometimes, it was a light change, and other times . . ."

"It started a war," Hank guessed.

"It changed an entire game. Forgetting one person, one seemingly small character or action. There was a person M could save," Connor said to him. "Midway. He doesn't know whether to trust him or not because he met him in security. Further on in the game, that person will sacrifice himself for M. or M dies. Just because of one action, one random weary choice at a completely different part of the game."

Hank looked at his coffee cup. "Sounds sucky. Sounds like life. What do you want to do? You know we are running out of time already."

I think we should all talk about this.

Shoot. Kara tended to stay at the edge of the dreamspace to make sure she didn't miss much. Talking this out doesn't change the options.

Connor. If Alice and I should go to Jericho instead of North so she can adapt-

A promise is a promise, and I can't just leave someone like North alone with Hank.

Then where is North supposed to go?

Carl Manfred seems to be a non-violent human that Markus cared for as his own father. If we change North and Markus, maybe he would take care of them. It might help Markus be more non-violent.

Hank made it sound like there is a time limit on this?

There is always a chance anything could happen, but I think Cyberlife made contact with him. He went from discussing the long game to wanting a decision in just a couple of days. The best results will be with a long game. We should wait and find a way to all of Markus' group. Carl will not be there in all situations where North will be.

"Connor," Hank tried again. "I know. Shit is gonna go out of your control when you wake M."

"Wake M?" Gavin moved nearby. "The hell is with all the mystery talk? Playing with your androids?"

"I do the shit I have to, to make the therapist happy, so I don't go to prison," Hank told Gavin.

"Hank, what the hell is it you did to get this punishment?"

"None of ya business," Hank said to him. "Less I talk, the better." Gavin eventually walked away just shaking his head. He glanced back at Connor. "S and J are no go's. Cyberlife has never let you play a long game, there's a reason. How long do you think you really have?"

He might be right, Kara agreed. Do Alice and I need to leave to Jericho, or should Markus stay with North and the human Carl?

Shit. Connor had to curse. This is a bad idea.

"Connor, the situation isn't going to change," Hank told him again. "What's the best way to handle this?"

The best way. I won't leave you and Alice to go to Jericho alone, that was a promise. I can't leave Hank with North. I don't think North will kill an innocent human being that can't even walk on their own. She also wouldn't want to make another android mad at her, it would make living together harder.

It sounds like you already know what you need to choose, Kara pointed out.

Do I? I'm not convinced. You are the one with the touch, Kara, not Markus. He might make political moves, but he can't awaken an army. Doing anything too early without knowing more about spreading your touch of deviance somehow, is risky. Except.

Except what, Connor?

Except, Hank wouldn't just end the long game with a choice option of two out of nowhere. "How long do you think I have, Hank?"

"They aren't known to keep their best options available 24/7," Hank said to him. "They like to reserve, to make them more special. Bring them out for special occasions. They don't ever say 'our best android has worked for two years with the best chefs' or some shit like that. They say 'we lended our android for this years special competition' or some crap."

Lingo. Human lingo and expectations. "If you though that, Hank, why did you say this would be a long game two days ago?"

"Whether you are here playing or not, it'll be a long game," Hank answered back. "Whether you sneak around them, and make it out there, it's still an ongoing game."

"That puts it into perspective." A lot of things that Connor wished hadn't fallen into perspective. "Our best option, in the circumstances we face, are to wake N and M and send them to CM."

"Alright then, I think I'm going to take in some entertainment after work. You gonna come to the Eden Club with me, Connor?"