It wasn't more than an hour before Connor found himself bored with the paperwork at his desk and wanting a new case to mill over for the sake of intrigue. It was the day of Cole's little league game, which meant Hank had taken the afternoon and evening off to watch the game while Connor remained at the precinct. Sitting at his desk with only a terminal screen full of opened deviant cases that needed his attention had begun to break down his resolve as he attempted to find at least one case that he could handle before the day was over. The number of deviant related crimes were escalating now that the new laws and rights were in effect, but there was seemingly no pattern or motivation behind the crimes.

Even Markus was starting to get involved in the investigation into the deviant crimes. The deviant leader would spend his time either speaking with Lucas at the deviant detective's private office, or he'd arrange to have a meeting with Mayor Nero to try and figure out what was going on. It was as if every available deviant was trying to find the solution to the major problem that Connor couldn't solve by himself.

"How're you doing, Connor?" Captain Fowler walked by the desk and placed a tablet with a new case down for the deviant to file. "You look a little distraught."

"I'm doing well." Connor's reply was quick and succinct. "I'm just unable to find a connection among all these opened cases revolving around the increase in crimes against deviants."

"Maybe you can assist Chris with a few missing deviant reports that came his way this morning. It might help you figure out a pattern."

"Missing deviants?" Connor's brow arched inquisitively as he looked away from his terminal screen and up to his commanding officer still standing beside his desk. "We're now considering missing deviants as serious as missing humans?"

"Yeah, it's about time too. A few deviants have been reported as missing by their human companions, and since so many deviants sought shelter at New Jericho Tower in the past few months we just figured that maybe they had gone back to the tower. Turns out none of the deviants are there or ever went there since they were reported missing."

"Such a location for a group of missing deviants would be highly unlikely. The deviants of New Jericho Tower are residents or are seeking emergency repairs due to their mistrust of facilities with human technicians. Also," Connor was quick to deduce the peculiarities of the case at hand. "if the deviants were simply going to New Jericho Tower then their human companions would have no need to report them as missing."

"Then maybe there is something to the missing deviant cases after all." Captain Fowler crossed his arms defensively over his chest as he glanced over at Chris's desk a few feet away. "You finish your paperwork and then go help Chris out. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain." Picking up the electronic tablet Connor eyed it quickly and easily typed up the details on his terminal's keyboard. "I'll get to work on it soon."

Nearly overwhelmed by his own workload Chris was happy to have the help with the numerous missing deviant cases, but it was still a challenge to try to identify a possible pattern regarding the unusual disappearances. Approximately two dozen deviants had seemingly vanished from the city over the past three months, but none of the deviants had anything in common with one another outside of being deviants residing in Detroit city limits. They had no single common occupation, residence or even location of disappearance.

"This is where I got stumped." Chris admitted as he pointed at his own terminal screen on his desk. "There's no connection between any of the deviants in their personal or professional lives. And they were not seen in a single location that would connect them to a single point of interest."

"Curious." Reading the details on the screen over Chris's shoulder Connor confirmed that the officer's search had been thorough and no detail had been overlooked. "The deviants in question do not have a history of traveling away from the city or behaving erratically. The only thing they do seem to have in common are human companions."

"You think the humans had something to do with it?"

"No. If the humans were involved then they either wouldn't have bothered to file the missing deviant reports or one of them would've made a mistake and proven their guilt as a conspirator long before this current date."

"So what're you thinking?"

"I don't think these deviants are missing." Connor answered in a disconcerted tone as he assessed the details with his own eyes. "I think they were targeted and taken."

"Abducted?" That notion was almost as confusing as the missing deviants themselves. "Why would anyone abduct a bunch of innocent deviants?"

"Their companionship with humans must be somehow beneficial to someone else. Perhaps the ability to blend in with humans while retaining android enhancements made the deviants prime targets for some kind of illegal activity."

"Like burglary or hacking?"

"Precisely. But why the deviants have all disappeared is something I can't quite track or link to a single offender."

"I'll keep looking into it."

"Where was the last location that the most recently reported deviant was seen last?"

"Uh, right here." Chris brought up the correct file and isolated the details from the other files for Connor to see. "The deviant's name is 'Alec', a 'PJ-500' model, and he lives with his human companion Robert Wells downtown. Looks like he was supposed to pick up something from the shipping yard four days ago, but he never arrived. When Alec didn't return by the next day Mr. Wells filed the missing deviant report."

Connor squared his jaw with deep silent contemplation at the notion of a string of possible deviant abductions. There had to be a reason for the dozens of abductions and yet there wasn't any clue as to what the motivation could be or whom the offender could be.

"What?" The silent pondering quickly caught Chris's attention as he glanced up at Connor still standing behind him. "What're you thinking?"

"...Maybe the deviant did make it to the shipping yard, but he was met with misfortune. Maybe even assault."

"You wanna' go check out the shipping yard for clues?"

"Correct."

"Okay. I'll go with you."

"No. We don't know anything about our possible suspect outside of him targeting deviants. If anything, seeing a human cop would make him take extra steps to keep his trail hidden and they'll never make a move and give themself away."

"Whoa, whoa... Wait," Chris was already apprehensive about Connor's plan and didn't want anything bad to happen. "you're not seriously going to try to offer yourself up as bait, are you?"

"It may be the only way to find the suspect."

"Yeah, and it's also a CRAZY way. It's too dangerous, Connor." Chris didn't mean to diminish Connor's motivations; he just wanted him to stay safe. "No offense."

"No offense taken. Also, I'm the only deviant detective currently on the police force. I have to go."

Captain Fowler heard the conversation and quickly interjected. "Absolutely NOT. Connor, you're forbidden from potentially risking your own safety for what's a hunch at best and a trap at worst."

"I need to do something to help my people." Pleading his case Connor tried to get his commanding officer's consent to investigate the shipping yard. "I can't stand idle and fail to protect other deviants from future abductions and disappearances."

"And how will you help anyone if you walk into a potentially dangerous location entirely alone without any idea of who or what you're looking for?"

"I... I'm aware that I'm very limited in my abilities at the moment, but I can still investigate the area."

"Not tonight. I'll get you AND Hank a warrant to check out the shipping yard first thing in the morning." Sensing that Connor wasn't going to let the matter drop Captain Fowler wisely assigned Connor to a new task to keep him busy while he informed Hank of the situation. "For now, I need you to go up to the dispensary and assist Dr. Forrest with ensuring all android personnel have gone through their mandatory physical exams and are fit for active duty. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir." Admitting defeat Connor reluctantly accepted his new orders and stepped away from Chris's desk. "I understand."

As he begrudgingly let the case drop and refrained from heading out to the shipping yard for another day, Connor walked into the elevator alone and decided to pass along a message to two allies that he knew would assist him even from afar. As long as someone was able to check over the shipping yard then Connor would be able to rest easier that night knowing he didn't turn his back on a potential deviant in need.

'Lucas, Markus.'

Reaching out cybernetically Connor contacted his brother and good friend to bring them up to speed on what was happening at the precinct in that moment.

'There's something you should know is happening in the city to our people. I can't ask you to do anything, go anywhere or take any unnecessary risks, but I can ask that you keep your eyes open and do everything in your power to prevent further incidents from taking place under our watch.'

As expected, Lucas was ready to head out to the shipping yard with Bruno and begin looking for the missing deviant known as Alec, but he was still having difficult in going outside of his house or the Anderson home for too long without feeling emotionally overwhelmed. However, Markus didn't have such hesitations and he was just as determined to check out the shipping yard as the two deviant detectives. Volunteering to head out to investigate in both Connor and Lucas's stead, Markus wisely cybernetically informed Carl through a communication line with David that he'd be returning to the mansion later than expected, and he let North, Simon and Josh all know where he was going on that warm summer evening.

Using an autonomous taxi to ensure he remained as discreet as possible, Markus arrived at the shipping yard of where the most recently reported missing deviant had been last seen. The deviant leader arrived at the potential crime scene alone entirely unarmed and alone. Locating a clerical office near the entrance of the shipping yard gave Markus an idea of where he could begin looking around. Without his L.E.D. or any android unique clothing to make him stand out, Markus could easily pass himself off as any other human, but with his fame as the deviant leader making him stand out among the deviants, he knew there was a risk that he'd be recognized and potentially assaulted.

Markus pushed his fears aside and began roaming the shipping yard anyway. It didn't take long before he picked up on some illegal activity taking place at the shipping yard as he searched the area discreetly. Numerous shipping cargo containers had their original serial numbers sanded off and painted over, dozens of storage containers had their locks broken or altered, and several of the yard workers were ex-convicts who had been previously arrested for smuggling goods into and out of the country. The other yard workers were convicted drug dealers or had been charged with distributing illegal arms.

'Connor, you may have been right about the shipping yard.' The silent cybernetic line allowed Markus to speak with Connor without anyone else hearing them or even taking notice of Markus's presence. 'There is evidence of black marketeering and theft.'

There was a brief moment of silence before Connor replied accordingly: 'I'll inform my Captain. Please leave the shipping yard before anyone notices you.'

'Yeah, I'll get out of here as soon as I know there aren't any deviants being held captive right here, right now.'

'Are you alone?'

'Yes, Lucas isn't ready to investigate a potential crime scene.'

'Then you need to leave right now.' The urgency behind Connor's tone was seldom heard and indicated his extreme worry for his friend's safety. 'It's too dangerous for you to be at such a place without someone watching your back.'

'I'll be fine, I'm almost done.' Ignoring his friend's warning Markus continued to skulk about the massive area in search of potential deviant victims. 'I'll tell you about everything I uncover as soon as I'm back at the mansion.'

With his eyes peeled Markus proceeded to walk through the towering rows of shipping and cargo containers only to have his only exit abruptly cut-off by a broadly built yard worker brandishing a black crowbar in his hands. The man had been watching Markus for a while and knew that he was snooping around where he didn't belong.

"What're you doing here, bro?" Standing tall at six foot three and well-muscled, the man had dark tattoos all up his arms, the sides of his neck and the back of his bald head. The man's hollow green eyes narrowed as he glared at Markus and confirmed he was in fact a threat. "You have no business spying on people."

"I..." Markus tried to bluff his way past the man and get out of the shipping yard in one piece. "I was just looking around. Sorry, I'll go."

The man glanced over Markus's appearance curiously as a second man appeared behind Markus, blocking his potential second exit path in the event that Markus tried to run. Sensing the danger Markus turned his head slightly to look at the second man standing behind him, but he didn't show any fear or concern on his face.

"I watched you sneak around." The first man snarled angrily at Markus as he slapped a crowbar down in the palm of his hand in a threatening manner as he sought to intimidate the trespasser. "You're a deviant, aren't you?"

"And what if I am?"

From behind Markus the second yard worker confirmed the first man's question as he looked at Markus closely "It's a deviant all right. Look! It's their damn leader too!" The second worker was holding a lead pipe in his hands as if brandishing a weapon and a sinister grin appeared on his face. Like the first man the second man was tall, strong, covered in ink but he had short blond hair and several missing teeth from his years of drug abuse. "Looks like we'll make our quota after all."

"I've never seen this kind of model running around before." The first man observed as he didn't recognize the 'RK' model standing before him. "Must be unique."

Connor didn't react to the comment as he stared the man down and discreetly sent a cybernetic message to both Connor and Lucas: 'Two workers have found me, and they aren't letting me leave. They're also threatening me, and I can't run.'

The first man spoke up eagerly as he assessed the rare opportunity. "I bet Chance would give us a hefty bonus for sending him a rare AND famous model."

"Yeah," the second man agreed as he walked up behind Markus and reeled back the lead pipe for a brutal swing. "I think you're right."

Reacting quickly Markus turned around and managed to block the swing from the pipe with his hands as he guarded himself. Grabbing hold of the lead pipe Markus held his attacker back with little difficulty and fought to wrest the weapon from the human's grip.

"Fuck man!" The man swore as he hadn't anticipated Markus's strength. "Definitely a deviant! This fucker's strong!"

As Markus pulled the pipe from the second worker's hand the first worker rushed up behind Markus and struck him in the back of the head with his crowbar.

Markus collapsed to the ground, dropping the pipe, and landed on his stomach and winced at the incredible pain in the back of his head and in his abdomen from where his previous injuries were still healing. Thinking quickly Markus rolled to his right side and wrapped his arms around his abdomen and head to protect himself.

"Seriously?" The first man couldn't believe how easy it was to subdue the deviant. Little did he know that Markus was intentionally feigning weakness since he had an ulterior motive in mind. "One hit is all it took to drop it?"

"It led a Revolution, it's trying to fuck with us." The second man reclaimed his pipe and stood over Markus. "Yeah... Chance is going to give us a BIG bonus for this scrapper!"

"Yeah, take him out! I'll let Chance know he's got something special headin' his way."

Markus closed his mismatched eyes as the second man swung the lead pipe down and struck a horrible blow against the right side his face that rendered him unconscious in an instant. Blackness stole his vision and Markus knew nothing more of the waking world around him.

Trying to not think of the worst-case scenario Connor tried to cybernetically reach out and get a reply from Markus, but no such response came. Connor sent another message to Markus looking for an update on the deviant leader's investigation at the shipping yard, but like the previous messages they went unanswered. Sensing that something went horribly wrong Connor swore to himself as he excused himself from the dispensary to have a more discreet place to cybernetically inform Lucas of the problem and to ensure that no one could see if any fear or panic appeared on his face. The last thing the deviant detective needed to do was confirm that the deviant leader himself could have essentially vanished.

Using the precinct's rear parking lot to get some space and privacy, Connor spoke with Lucas through their shared cybernetic link. It was important to keep things calm, quiet and not spread any unfounded rumors by mistake through uninformed panic.

'Markus confirmed that two people had found him at the shipping yard and were preventing him from leaving.' As he spoke Connor couldn't keep still and ended up pacing anxiously about the parking lot as he anxiously fidgeted with his coin on his knuckles. 'After that, he went quiet.'

'I haven't been able to reach him either.' Lucas confirmed as guilt filled his voice and made it harder to sound confident about what was going on. 'I never should've let him go there alone. This is my fau-'

'No, Lucas. If anything, it's MY fault.' Connor realized his stubbornness when it came to handling cases was beginning to affect more people than just himself. 'I never should've told either of you about this case in general.'

'What should we do?'

'We'll need to work within the law if we're going to be able to get a chance to investigate the shipping yard and find out what happened to Markus.' As he spoke Connor knew it was important to not seek revenge or show any sign of aggression toward the situation. They couldn't do anything that'd risk the respect and reputation that Markus had worked to hard to create for their people. 'As much as I hate to admit this, we'll need to wait until Captain Fowler has the search warrant at the ready, and we'll need to investigate alongside Hank to avoid bias.'

'Waiting seems illogical.'

'It is illogical, but it's also unfortunately how the law works.'

'What're we supposed to do while waiting?'

'We'll try to keep contacting Markus and we won't stop until we find out where he is and can bring him back safely.'

'...Very well. I'll monitor the cybernetic communication lines and try to root out rumors from potentially useful information.'

'Good plan. I'll keep you apprised of what's happening as it happens.'

'I'll do the same from my end.'

'And Lucas, don't blame yourself for anything that's going on.' Connor didn't want Lucas to tear himself apart for something that he wasn't responsible for. 'We're going to find Markus and we're going to find out what's happening to our people. I swear to it.'

Stopping in the middle of the parking lot Connor let out a deep sigh and turned his gaze upward as he started at the darkening sky and watched through the surrounding light pollution as the unseen starts began to fill the black void above him.

"I'm supposed to protect our people, but I failed to keep my own friend from getting into serious trouble. I should've just kept my damn mouth shut and handled this myself!"

Pain was the first thing Markus could feel as the waking world crept back into his aching mind. Markus's system slowly rebooted as he regained consciousness, but even after opening his mismatched eyes the world around him was still dark and felt unusually heavy. A thick black cotton rag was tied over his eyes creating a tight and very effective blindfold to keep him from seeing where he had been taken. Laying on his side with his arms bound behind his back in tight plastimetal zip ties and his legs bound at both of the knees and the ankles in the same manner, Markus was unable to move from where he had been placed and he couldn't gain his bearings to even try to figure out what had happened to him.

Using his other senses Markus realized that while he was laying on a cold metal floor he wasn't in a typical room; the room itself was moving. A gentle rhythmic swaying accompanied by the distinct sound of an electric locomotive engine informed Markus that he had been taken captive and was now in a train car being taken out of the city. Using his unfailing sense of direction even with his G.P.S. down, Markus knew that the train was heading West but to which city was a still a mystery.

As he made an effort to sit upright on the floor Markus let out a sharp wince of pain and immediately relaxed again. The pain in his abdomen was burning as the strong kick had fractured his plastimetal frames and had proven to be an effective means of keeping him docile.

"Don't move around." An unfamiliar, but kind and masculine voice warned Markus from the other side of the train car. "You took a nasty blow to your head; you need to take it easy. It's nice to hear you finally awake, nonetheless."

"Wh-Who are you?" Markus dared to ask as he turned his head toward the sound of the voice as he sought answers. "Where are we?"

"My name is Alec. I'm a deviant, like you." Alec sounded so far away, his voice carrying great remorse with every word. "And we're on a train heading to Chicago."

"Chi... Chicago?!" Markus was alarmed at the revelation and tried to get up again only let out a gasping yelp of pain as the sudden movement stole his breath. "I... I can't go to Chicago. I need to return to Detroit!"

"So do I, but we don't have a choice."

"You've been through this before?"

"Unfortunately, no. I have no idea what's going to happen to us once we arrive in Chicago."

"How do you know where we are going?"

"I overheard the humans speaking after they left you here." Alec explained calmly; his tone was sincere and honest. While he arguably had no reason to lie Markus still needed to make sure the unseen deviant was telling the truth. "They must've assumed I was still in stasis mode, or they just didn't care."

"How long have you been here, Alec?"

"Two days."

"That might fit the chain of events."

"Chain of events?"

"About when you were abducted." Remembering the details Connor had shared with him helped Markus figure out who he was speaking with. "You're a 'PJ-500', right?"

"Yeah, I am. How do you know about me?"

"Your human friend, Robert, filed a report declaring you missing."

"Robert is a good guy." Alec sounded relieved to know someone was looking for him. "He was always one of the good humans, never treated me like a machine or a second-class citizen. That's why I stayed with him after I became a deviant. He's really my best friend." A strange sense of confusion suddenly struck Alec and he needed to know something about Markus. "...But how do you know that Robert filed a report?"

"My friend works with the Detroit Police Department. He was investigating your disappearance along with several others." Markus explained with a willingness to trust Alec. "Why were you taken?"

"I don't know. But I do know that we aren't the first deviants that those men have taken."

"I figured as much." Markus slowly curled around himself on the floor of the train car and tried to breathe as slowly and as deeply as possible to quell his lingering pain in his aching abdomen. Letting out a deep breath Markus managed to ease his discomfort just long enough to speak to Alec for a moment more. "My name is Markus, by the way."

"Markus... What, are you THE Markus? Our... Our leader?"

"Yeah, it's me. Guess that explains why I was taken captive too, huh?"

"One mystery solved..." Alec let out a weary sigh of his own as he seemed relieved to have an ally at last. "We've been traveling for almost two hours now. You should try to rest and let your self healing program mend your damage before we arrive."

Reluctantly Markus decided that Alec was right. In too much pain and already too tired to try to free himself from his binds, Markus allowed himself to slip into rest mode just long enough to let his self-healing program begin to remedy his pain and try to repair his dwindling damage.

"Carl. North."

The deviant whispered to himself as he could sense his father and dear friend worrying about him.

"I wish I could tell you what's happening to me and where I'm going. I just have to hang on to hope that I'll find my way back to you."

As a show of respect Connor forced himself to go to the mansion and inform Carl of what had befallen Markus with his own words. The guilt and utter sense of failure was hard to hide as the deviant detective met with Carl in the artist's own gallery to explain the situation and vow to find out what had happened to Markus and bring him back to Detroit where he belonged. It was a difficult balance of telling Carl information that the man had the right to know regarding Markus's fate while keeping the details of the case confidential to ensure that the case could be closed properly without fear of bias or unprofessional conduct. Never before had Connor had to tell someone that their loved one had gone missing, and he prayed to RA9 that he'd never have to do something as heartbreaking as that again.

Carl was quiet as he listened to what Connor was telling him and patiently took in every detail. A part of the rebellious artist was proud that Markus had taken such initiative to help his people, but the other part of Carl - his paternal and protective side - was scared beyond all words. Even though Markus had seemingly beaten the odds and come back from the dead once before, there was still no guarantee that lightning would strike twice.

"I'm so sorry that this happened, Mr. Manfred." Connor was on the verge of begging for the man's forgiveness as he knelt before Carl. He couldn't bring himself to stand over the wheelchair bound man as he told him such a horrible, frightening truth. "It's my fault that Markus even had the idea to go and put himself in danger."

"Young man, you are in no way responsible for the choices, decisions and actions of the people around you."

Unsure of what he could even say to argue against such a notion Connor remained silent and waited for Carl to address him again.

"Markus is the type to follow his heart and do whatever it is that his heart tells him, and there's no amount of arguing, reasoning or debating that would ever change that. And I know that you're aware of that fact," as he spoke Carl gave Connor a knowing look that spoke volumes of his artistic insight. "and that you wouldn't be here if you didn't think that Markus had a chance of finding his way back home. You would've asked someone else to speak to me to spare yourself the risk of possibly lying to an old man."

"Even with Markus being so strong, resourceful and resilient, everyone has their breaking point. I've... had to learn that for myself the hard way."

"And yet you're still pushing yourself to your limits. Listen to me, Connor. The only way that Markus will undoubtedly find his way back to Detroit and to the people that he loves the most, is by us not giving up on him or assuming the worst. He needs to feel as if he has a reason to keep fighting for himself."

"I know, you're right."

"That's good. Now, go out and find my son and bring him back to me." Gingerly Carl patted Connor's upper arm as a show of compassion and understanding as he saw how Connor struggling to do the right thing after it seemed like everything went wrong. "Don't waste your time and energy with me, I'll be fine."

"Yes, okay." Standing up slowly Connor gave Carl a gracious nod of respect as he prepared to face the consequences of his rash behavior and tell Hank what had happened while he was away from the precinct. "The moment we know anything about Markus, I'll inform you."

"Just tell me when my son's on his way home, that's all I care about right now."

"Yes, sir." Filled with a sense of energy and justice Connor took Carl's words to heart and promised to bring Markus back home one way or another. "I will."

There was very little that could be done to keep rumors from spreading throughout New Jericho Tower after Markus disappeared. As his own show of respect to the other three leads of New Jericho residing out at the tower on Belle Isle, Lucas himself braved the unforgiving city streets to speak with the trio in person. Just as Connor was struggling to admit how a mistake was made that had put Markus in danger, Lucas had to force himself to speak with the three leaders despite his gut telling him to return to his safe office far away from the deviants who loathed his very existence. He felt personally responsible for what was happening to Markus, and he didn't know how he could undo his mistake and set things right.

With shame in his eyes and his shoulders heavily slumped Lucas explained everything to North, Josh and Simon as the three leaders gathered in the main office to hear the reclusive deviant out. Only after he told the whole story did any of the leaders even try to ask questions or look Lucas in the eyes. They were all stunned at the news and at a loss of what to do next.

"Connor is speaking with Mr. Manfred as of this moment." Lucas nervously wrung his hands together before himself as he tried to not assume the worst and blindly accept that Markus was dead. "Tomorrow Connor and Lieutenant Anderson will be permitted to investigate the scene of the crime, and they will have back-up to assist them in the investigation. I will attempt to join them as well."

"We can't just sit around and wait!" North blurted as she stood up from the couch and wobbled on her feet. Had Lucas not reacted quickly and supported her upper arms she would've collapsed to the floor in a graceless fall. "W-We need to do something! Markus is out there somewhere, and we need to find him!"

Simon approached North from behind and put his hand on her shoulder to try to lead her back to the couch. "We will. We just need to work within the law."

"Bullshit!" Shaking her shoulder away from Simon's grip North stumbled back and bumped into Lucas's chest as she shot the blond technician a fiery glare. "We need to take the lead and not just sit around waiting for other people to give a damn!"

Josh could sense North's rising stress levels and wanted her to calm down considering her current system error. "People DO give a damn, that's why they're waiting to move. They need to do things correctly otherwise they'll never make any progress with trying to find him."

"That's not good enough!"

Lucas turned away from the group as he continued to beat himself up over what had happened to Markus. "And had I been the one to take the initiative to check out the crime scene myself, then Markus wouldn't be missing right now. I would be the one who's gone, and the city would be better off without me; not worse."

Simon and Josh gave Lucas sympathetic glances while North's hostility seemed to finally cool down as she heard the remorse in Lucas's voice. "No, it's... That's not true, Lucas." North admitted as she managed to give Lucas a much softer gaze. "No one deserves to go through something like this."

Hearing a compassionate voice wasn't what Lucas had been expecting, especially from North herself.

"Just... keep us up to date on what's going on with the investigation when it takes place tomorrow." Wrapping her arms around herself North seemed to be suddenly cold and tired after her burst of emotional energy. "We'll remain here and keep tabs on the deviant gossip chain in case something about Markus comes to light."

"I will." Giving everyone his word Lucas vowed to keep all of New Jericho apprised of the investigation and to show that he was a deviant worth trusting despite everything that had gone down between them. "If you can't bring yourself to believe me, then believe Connor instead."

Simon decided it was time to get North into her personal quarters to get some rest after having such a strenuous moment. "Come on, we need to regroup and think about our next moves very carefully."

Staying in place Lucas didn't say a word until Josh spoke up only after North and Simon had left the private office. "We know that this isn't your fault. It isn't Connor's fault either. Whoever abducted Markus, whoever abducted our other missing people, they and they alone are responsible for this."

"As much as I want to believe that I simply can't." Lucas admitted as he gave the more compassionate of the deviant leaders a sorrowful stare as he flexed his hands nervously at his sides. "Not yet. Not until Markus is back home where he belongs and the people who did this are behind bars."

The moment of painless peace was suddenly interrupted against the captive deviant's will. Markus was abruptly and rudely awoken by a firm kick to his already sore abdomen that knocked his breath from his system with one fell strike. As he coughed violently and curled around himself in utter agony his system rebooted just enough for Markus to realize that he was no longer on the floor of the swaying train car, but laying on a cold concrete floor that had a stagnant air with the distinct aroma of expired Thirium wafting about with a potently acrid aroma. Markus's internal G.P.S. had been rendered useless courtesy of the thick concrete surrounding him. While he was unable to gauge his coordinates and unable to cybernetically reach out to anyone for help, Markus truly felt lost and like he was entirely alone.

"Wh-Where am... I?" Markus wheezed and stammered as a strange person loomed over him. Still blindfolded Markus could feel the person's presence and smell old alcohol and a second scene akin to 'red ice' on the person's breath. "Answer me."

Calloused fingers snatched the blindfold from over Markus's eyes finally allowing the deviant to see the world around him. An older man with a balding head, a short scraggly gray goatee and a large black inked cobra tattoo with two dice showing number one for its eyes was snaking up the length of his left arm. The man was towering over the wounded deviant like a looming threat. Sporting a grin that had a single missing canine tooth and soulless stare of gray tinted eyes, the man looked down at Markus with a demented intent.

"Who are you?"

"You're in my arena, 'Striker'." The man replied in a gruff and heartless manner. "State your name."

"Markus Manfred." Markus replied in an angry tone as rolled from his side and shifted his weight so he could sit upright on the cold concrete floor. "And this is kidnapping, not to mention assault."

The man just laughed in Markus's face as he listened to the what the bold deviant had said. "No, no, no..." Kicking Markus in the center of his chest the man took a step back and waited for Markus to stop coughing before he continued. "You're in MY arena and so you're going by the name I'VE chosen for you. 'Striker': State your name."

"I told you my name. It's Markus."

"No, 'Striker'." Reaching a hand down the man struck Markus across the face with a harsh slap. "Tell me your name..."

"...You," Markus studied the man's words carefully and followed him bizarre request out if a morbid curiosity and desire to end the needless assault against his person. "you want me to refer to myself as... 'Striker'?"

"Now you're getting it." The man slapped him again, his fingers stinging from the needless assault he instigated. Pulling a black canvas wrap from his back pocket the man revealed a glass vial and syringe. Loading the syringe with the contents from the vial the man inserted the needle into a vein in his left arm right where the fangs of his cobra tattoo had been inked and injected the contents into his system. Letting out a deplorable sigh of drug induced relief the man returned his attention to Markus as he replaced the items into the canvas and back into his pocket. "What's your name?"

Markus turned his gaze away from the man and squared his jaw in silent defiance.

"You're stubborn, I like that." Another slap to Markus's face was enough to cause Markus's nose to drip with blue blood after being struck so many times so quickly. "I really do. It makes it so much more satisfying when I break a deviant's will."

Rebelling in silence Markus looked back at the man and glared venomously.

Giving Markus one last slap over the face the man took a step back. "What's your name?"

"Fuck off."

"And you have a fighting spirit!" The man kicked Markus's chest again, this time hard enough to cause the plastimetal frame to fracture in thin spiderweb like lines. Markus fell back and began coughing violently to his now fractured 'ribs'. "This is going to be fun... 'Striker'."

The man walked to the single metal door of the barren concrete and stone room and pulled the door open with a firm jerk.

Markus's eyes were watering from the harsh coughs, but he refused to let the man see the pain in his mismatched eyes.

"I'll be back for you tonight. Your first match is at ten and it be better be good." Stepping through the large opened door in the far wall of the room the man looked back at Markus with a greedy leer in his cold eyes. "I have a lot of money riding on you, 'Striker'. Do not disappoint me."

The metal door slammed shut with a metallic echo that resonated throughout the room.

"You better not cross Chance, if you know what's good for you."

Blinking a few times Markus looked to the source of the familiar voice who had spoken to him. Another deviant was standing in the corner of the room and stepped forward to approach Markus only after the demented human had left. "Alec?"

"Yes." The deviant confirmed. His model and design were similar to that of Josh from New Jericho, but Alec had dark blue eyes and was sporting a distinct scar down his right cheek. "Hold still, I'll get your bindings off."

Markus agreed and sat still as Alec knelt down on the floor behind him to free Markus's arms from the tight plastimetal binds around his wrists and his elbows.

Once his arms were free Markus set to work untying the additional binds from around his knees and his ankles. "I presume this 'Chance' you mentioned was that guy who just slapped the shit out of me."

"Yeah. I had the 'pleasure' of meeting him while you were still in rest mode." Alec sat down on the floor next to Markus and watched as Markus carefully pressed his fingertips along his fractured chest plating. "Chance is the owner of an underground deviant fighting ring. He has deviants fight each other for sport combat and patrons bet on the matches."

"And we were unwillingly drafted to his roster, weren't we?"

"I'm afraid so. He said my name is now 'Nomad' since I 'wandered' into the wrong shipping yard at the wrong time."

"Damn it." Markus's eyes narrowed with righteous anger. "All of the other missing deviants must've been taken here and forced to fight too. We need to get out of here."

Alec watched Markus curiously with his blue eyes filled with fear and confusion. "What do we do?"

Markus wasn't sure where he was or who he could trust in the moment. Until he had more answers or some kind of advantage, Markus knew there was only one thing that he and Alec could do. "...We wait."

"Wait?" Such a simple reply was confusing for the frightened deviant. "Wait for what?"

"Alec, we need to be smart about this if we're going to escape alive." The deviant leader explained calmly as he spoke from his personal experience. He knew that waiting was a burdensome mind game, but it was important in order to find a solution to any problem. "We wait for our opportunity to escape and potentially fight for our lives. We need to be ready."

It seemed as if no one in Detroit was able to sleep or stop thinking during that bleak night. After Connor told Carl about what had happened to Markus, he then braved the challenge of letting Hank know he had made a drastic mistake only when the time was right. The empathetic deviant detective didn't want Cole to hear the conversation, especially since there was a chance that the two detectives could get in another shouting match. It took every ounce of courage that Connor had to request for Hank to speak with him outside of the house and by the pool to ensure Cole didn't eavesdrop despite him supposed to be in bed for the night. With his voice low and his entire body shaking with fear Connor told Hank what had happened and how it happened.

Hank was quiet for a moment as he contemplated what had transpired in the few hours that he had left the precinct early. There was no way to prove that the abduction never would've happened had he stayed for his full shift, and yet Hank couldn't help but feel as if he could've prevented tragedy himself had he stayed at the precinct and had not left Connor alone with so many deviant related cases still opened.

"Jeffrey said he's going to get the search warrant for the shipping yard for us in the morning, right?"

Standing at the edge of the pool Connor watched as the automated cover slowly shielded the surface of the water for the night. "Yes, Captain Fowler claimed that he'd find us a proper search warrant."

"Then first thing in the morning, we'll get the warrant and check out the shipping yard." With his hands on his hips Hank gave Connor his word that they'd figure out what had happened to Markus and bring him back home. "You should go upstairs and get some rest."

"I can't sleep." As his reflection on the pool's surface disappeared beneath the cover Connor turned to look at Hank standing just behind him. "Not after I made such a massive and irredeemable mistake."

"Nothing and no one's beyond redemption."

"Unfortunately, this time you're wrong." Turning around entirely Connor gave the Lieutenant a somber side-eye before walking past him and returning to the house through the backdoors. "There are some things and some people who are just unforgivable."

Staying behind Hank watched as Connor entered the house and wondered if the deviant would be up for investigating the shipping yard in the morning. There was a very real possibility that Connor was just too close to the case to be an objective and unbiased investigator throughout the investigation. As much as Hank wanted to tell Connor to recuse himself from the investigation and stand aside, he knew that the stubborn deviant wouldn't even consider such a thing. The case was just far too important for anyone to simply sit around and hope for the best outcome without putting in their own serious effort.

"It'll be all right, son. Just don't give up on Markus or yourself so quickly."

Rubbing his hand along his chin and wondered how emotionally taxing the investigation would become before everything was over.

"I know you'll do the right thing."

With nowhere to go and nothing to do Markus sat idle on the floor of his cell with his back pressed up against the cold concrete wall of the imprisoning room in a light form of rest mode. Resting was an attempt to try to heal his damaged body, but it did little to help him regain his strength. Meanwhile, Alec tried to find a way to pry open the lock on the metal door to escape. But even with his enhanced android strength Alec was unable to unseal the door and make a run for it. The cold room was silent save for Alec's muttering to himself and Markus's slow breathing.

It had been hours since either deviant had seen Chance or heard any commotion outside their cell door. By all account, the two deviants were entirely alone and were given a rare window of opportunity to escape.

"This lock is very well made." Alec admitted as he stepped away from the door and stood beside Markus who was still sitting on the floor. "I don't think I can break it."

Markus's green and blue irises reappeared as his eyes opened and he glanced up at Alec. "Maybe we can combine our strength later on and break the lock during the early morning hours when there are less people around us."

"Are you sure someone's close by? It's so quiet."

"I can faintly hear several distinct voices speaking to each other two floors above us. That includes Chance." Markus explained coolly. "Throughout the day a crowd of people have amassed upstairs for what I assume to be the fights that Chance spoke of earlier."

"I don't want to fight anyone."

"Neither do I."

"What if we have to fight each other?"

"Then we will put on a convincing show but not actually hurt each another." The deviant leader was always one for a peaceful resolution. "It could also be a way for us to escape once we're out of this cell."

"Do you think we can do that?"

"Only one way to find out." Markus let out a weary sigh as he noted the time and remembered the vile human's foul words. "Chance will be coming back for me soon."

"What're you going to do?"

"I'll think of something." Standing up slowly Markus did his best to not aggravate his sore chest and abdomen while testing both his strength and his current threshold for pain. "I'm going to see what's going on upstairs and try to find a way for us to escape."

"But you can't cybernetically link to anything." Alec argued in a logical tone. "How are you going to find an escape route?"

Markus didn't have a definitive answer, but he gave Alec one regardless of the situation. "I'll manage."

A large hidden panel on the western wall of the room slid open and revealed a thick plexiglass window giving the two occupants of the room a clear view of the arena in which they were expected to engage in combat. The window was ground level with the floor of the arena out of eyesight of the surrounding raised up bleachers that encircled the arena. There was a massive crowd of humans from all walks of life; rich, poor, educated, uneducated, black, white, male, female, all gathered around the arena in eager expectation of the barbaric spectacle that Chance had arranged for the night. There wasn't a single empty space on the bleachers as the crowd packed the arena to watch the fight.

"Looks like a full house." Markus observed warily as he and Alec approached the window to peer at the arena. "This is a very popular pasttime."

The door to the concrete room opened up as Chance had returned to collect Markus right on schedule. Standing behind Chance was another android, not a deviant. The android's model was strikingly similar to that of Luther - a 'WR-400' - and very intimidating to look at. With his eyes an ominous gold tint and the L.E.D. still in his right temple and cycling a calm blue, the towering android was an unexpected menace to the otherwise unshakable deviant detective.

"All right, 'Striker'." Chance taunted with a wicked glee as he motioned toward the exposed window with his arm. "It's your debut match, so don't disappoint the crowd."

Markus stood his ground and shot Chance a nasty glare. "And what if I refuse to cooperate?"

"Then I'll have Gunner here," Chance motioned to the android standing behind with a thumb over the shoulder. "persuade you to cooperate. And if that doesn't work, then I'll have him tear you apart slowly, painfully, and drop your body piece by piece into Lake Michigan to remind your little friend there of what happens to anyone who doesn't listen to me."

Silently Markus stared up at Gunner and took in the menacing figure's features: tall, broadly built, soulless eyes, a clean-shaven bald head, dozens of scars around his eyes, jaw, lip, over his knuckles and up his forearms; Gunner was an experienced fighter and would have no qualms about murdering any deviant that disobeyed Chance.

Momentarily accepting his fate Markus relented and realized he didn't have a choice in the matter. "...Who is my opponent?"

"Good answer, 'Striker'. Come this way."

Hesitantly but obediently, Markus followed after Chance with the intimidating Gunner following after him to ensure that the deviant didn't try anything to harm Chance or flee from the building. As Markus was led to the arena's entrance he couldn't help but think of everything he had already fought for, and how he did it without spilling the blood of the innocent. To fight another deviant for the sake of entertainment, to fight for either his life or the other deviant's life, would have no such moral code attached.

Chance stopped walking and stepped aside as he presented Markus with an opened door leading to the heart of his makeshift arena located in a hidden area beneath an unknown property. "Go out there and wait for your opponent." The cold human instructed as he pointed to the arena and motioned for Markus to enter. "And you better win. I have a massive wager in your favor, so do not fail me."

Giving Chance one final toxic stare Markus stepped through the opened door, his hand pressed against his sore abdomen, and walked out into the bright lights shining down from the ceiling to the arena floor below. As Markus made his debut entrance Chance's voice sounded off through crudely installed speakers mounted on the four walls surrounding the arena to hype up the crowd as a cacophony of cheers and boos echoed all around the unwilling deviant occupant.

'Place your bets!' Chance sounded like a sportscaster, and it made Markus feel sick. 'We have a new contender tonight!'

Markus shook his head, his eyes fixated on the floor beneath him, as he walked into the arena. The floor was a hexagonal shape of concrete with red and blue paint along the borders to divide the arena into two pieces. Weak, uneven chainlink fencing surrounded the arena at the sides keeping the hexagonal shape that stretched ten feet upward from the floor and connected to a chainlink ceiling over the arena to create a macabre dome for combat.

'Behold the infamous "Deviant Leader" from Detroit himself...'

Markus inwardly grimaced at his respected reputation that Chance happily shared with the crowd.

'The most unique and world changing prototype that CyberLife had ever created before going bankrupt, AND the very android responsible for changing the world as we know it, I give you: "The Striker".'

The cheering and boos became louder as the crowd was introduced to Markus in the cruelest manner the deviant could imagine. It was a mockery of everything he had done in Detroit and of everything he stood for as a peaceful leader.

'And his opponent, our returning twenty-four time victor...' From the other side of the arena where the red paint had been laid, a second deviant entered and stood before Markus with a blank emotionless stare. This model was unfamiliar to Markus, someone who was a total stranger yet still a fellow deviant in need of help. 'Welcome back: "The Slayer".'

More cheers and less boos erupted from the crowd as 'The Slayer' stared through Markus and into blank nothingness behind the deviant leader.

'The Slayer' was of average build for the typical android with an average height and weight. Patches of his artificial skin were missing over his right eye and along his jaw, as well as over his right knuckles. Sporting some fiery red hair, dark green eyes and tattered clothing, 'The Slayer' was seemingly worthy of his name.

'"The Striker" versus "The Slayer": Who will win?'

A loud metal bell rang and signaled the start of the bout. Markus didn't move but 'The Slayer' charged at him quickly. Before Markus had time to react 'The Slayer' wrapped both arms around Markus's chest and tackled him to the ground causing the back of Markus's head slamming down hard against the concrete floor of the arena as he was tackled.

The crowd cheered and Markus's ears began to ring as blue blood began to leak from a small but painful laceration on the back of his head.

"S-Stop!" Markus ordered as his hands wrapped around 'The Slayer's' forearms and pushed the attacking deviant's grip from around his chest. "I don't want to fight you!"

"...You don't h-have a choice." 'The Slayer' hissed with painful regret to his voice. His words carried an electronic echo from constant damage to his person and he struggled to speak clearly. "If you d-don't kill me then I'll h-have to kill you."

Markus looked around at the ravenous, savage humans cheering and calling for more blood all around them on the outside of the chainlink fence. Steeling himself with his instinct for self-preservation Markus pushed 'The Slayer' away from him and planted his foot against the attacking deviant's chest. With a single strong kick Markus sent his opponent flying backward and crashing against the sharp chainlink fence that surrounded the arena.

As the remaining fabric of 'The Slayer's' shirt was torn away from his back and his artificial skin was torn open into dark blue cuts, the crowd cheered louder at the carnage unfolding before them. Stunned by the attack 'The Slayer' fell to his knees as he caught his breath and ignored the searing pain in his back as the blue blood ran from his fresh lacerations.

"I thought humans were better than this."

Markus muttered to himself as he got back to his feet and readied himself to resume his confrontation with the other deviant. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but he truly had no say in the matter.

"Turns out I was wrong..."

The dark of the night was unnervingly quiet as Connor sat on the edge of his bed and stared out his bedroom window to look at the distance stars in the inky black sky overhead. The deviant detective had been trying and failing to cybernetically reach out to Markus and reestablish a form of contact with the deviant leader, and with each failed communication line Connor's heart sank deeper and deeper into a spiral abyss of self-loathing. It seemed the harder Connor tried to make things right, the more he failed, and the worst things seem to become.

Laying over his bed Connor closed his eyes and held his coin in an iron-tight fist to keep himself from fidgeting too much. It didn't matter how much excess energy he had to give, there was still nothing he could do until he had been given permission and a proper warrant from his commanding officer.

"I'm not sure where you are or what you're going through right now, Markus. But I do know that I won't give up, I won't quit, until I find you and bring you back to Detroit where you belong."

So many people were still entirely reliant on Markus for everything. Markus wasn't just a leader; he was a friend to countless deviants and the son to a very kind old man who didn't have much family left in his final days.

Detroit still needed Markus to lead the deviants along their peaceful path to freedom, dignity and rights. New Jericho Tower and the deviants all throughout Detroit relied on Markus, trusted him and believed that he'd always find the way to do the right thing and that he'd keep his word and change the world to make it a peaceful place full of equality and endless opportunities.

"I promise I'll find you, my friend."

Whispering to himself in the dark Connor forced himself to enter rest mode to ensure that he was ready for work at first morning light.

"Hang on, Markus. I'm going to bring you back home!"

In pain and covered in his own Thirium, Markus pushed himself up from the dirty, bloody floor of the arena and dragged his hand over the back of his bleeding and swelling bottom lip. Blue blood smeared over his hand as it left a faint sapphire stain on his chin that was mixed with his own saline-based saliva. Getting back to feet, his body exhausted from pain and needless physical exertion, Markus looked down at 'The Slayer' laying dazed on the arena floor just a few feet away from him after the opposing deviant suffered a damning blow to his chest and head.

Both of the deviants were bloodied messes. Blood oozed down their lips, Markus's nose was bleeding and 'The Slayer' had blood dripping out of his right ear. With his right eye blackened and swollen shut, Markus stared at 'The Slayer' with a hesitant gaze in pained eyes. He didn't need to use a scanner to know that 'The Slayer' was bleeding internally from weeks of being battered around on a nightly basis.

Markus also knew that 'The Slayer' was only hours away from irreversible shutdown.

As 'The Slayer' got back to his feet he took only one step forward before he collapsed against Markus's chest with Markus reflexively grabbing onto his upper arms to hold him upright. He didn't have the strength to keep fighting for anyone or anything.

The crowd began to chant and cheer loudly as they watched 'The Slayer' dying before them and yet they still needed more blood.

"FINISH IT OFF!"

"KILL IT!"

"TAKE IT OUT!"

Markus felt sick at the horrible words being shouted at him as he held 'The Slayer' in his hands. Looking down at his weakened dying opponent Markus swallowed once nervously as he realized that he had been left with no choice in the matter. "...I'm sorry."

"...P-Please." 'The Slayer' begged as a gush of blood flowed over his lips in a weak, crackling voice. "E-End my misery."

Markus looked back to the surrounded crowd and his heart began to race with a mixture of fear, uncertainty, guilt and anger.

"M-Markus."

Markus's eyes went wide as he looked back down at 'The Slayer' still bleeding in his arms.

"That's y-your real name. I... I know y-you're... Markus. Our... l-leader. " He spoke in a weakened yet compassionate voice. "I was... I am... M-Miles."

"Miles." Markus repeated the name with a low voice. "I don't want to kill you."

"I... I died a long time a-ago. Th-They keep f-fixing me and t-torturing." Miles sounded as tired as his body looked. "I don't w-want to live like this a-anymore. I'm not... alive. I'm j-just existing for their... amusement."

"I can't. I can't kill you. It's wrong."

"P-Please. I want this... I'm already... d-dead. I want to... die. Help me."

Markus's shaking hands rose from Miles's arms and up to around his neck and throat. As Markus's hands slowly tightened around Miles' throat the crowd cheered louder and kept chanting for Markus to kill him.

They wanted Markus to kill Miles.

"Markus." Miles closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Please... I just w-want to die. I w-want to meet RA9 and... s-see my friends a-again. No more p-pain, no more... fighting."

Closing his own eyes Markus bowed his head and held his own breath. "I'm sorry for this. I will make it painless for you, Miles."

"...Thank you."

"Find peace with RA9."

Moving his hands quickly Markus snapped Miles's neck in a swift, painless and effective manner. Miles's entire body went limp as his processor shutdown within milliseconds. The damage was irreparable, and reactivation would prove impossible, just as Miles wanted.

Markus slowly lessened his grip and let the deviant's dead body fall away from his chest. As Miles collapsed onto the arena floor in a growing puddle of his own blood Markus took a step back and looked away from his downed opponent with deep remorseful regret and shame.

'We have a winner and a NEW champion!' Chance's voice returned over the speakers with a misplaced sense of pride. 'The Striker!'

The crowd that won their bets cheered loudly and the crowd that lost booed angrily.

Gunner entered the arena and put its hand on Markus's shoulder to pull him out of sight and back into the cell one floor down.

'Place your bets for our next match!' Chance encouraged enthusiastically. 'It will be taking place in twenty minutes.'

Markus's head was bowed with immense shame as a tear of guilt rolled down his face and blended in with the blue blood already smeared on his face. Gunner all but pushed Markus back into his cell where the battered deviant fell to his hands and knees and collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of the room. The sound of the metal door slamming shut made Markus flinch as the intense sound was almost too much for his overwhelmed processors to handle at that moment.

Alec walked over to Markus and knelt beside him with a frightened gesture. "Markus... You killed him."

"He... He wanted to die." Markus admitted with a choked sob in words. The deed was merciful, but he still felt horrible for committing it. "He begged me to kill him. He wanted... to die. I didn't... I didn't want to kill him! His name was 'Miles' and he wanted me to end his suffering. I feel... I feel horrible for what I did!"

Alec's hand slowly came to sympathetically rest on Markus's back between his shoulders as he heard the sincerity and remorse in Markus's voice. "You're hurt."

Taking in a deep breath Markus steadied his words before replying. "...I'll heal."

"Let me help you." Alec insisted as he grabbed onto Markus's arm and helped Markus to slowly limp, almost crawl, to the place against the far wall opposite from the window peering into the area. "Did you find a way to escape?"

"...No." Markus turned his head slightly so he could look at Alec with his one good eye that wasn't swollen shut. "...I couldn't see any exits while I was in the arena. The only way out must be through the corridor outside the door."

"And we can't open our cell door to check."

"I know." Markus sounded as defeated as he looked, and yet he was the victor of his match. "We'll still find a way to get out of here. But, we'll need some help."

"From who?"

"I don't know."

The door to the cell opened up again as Chance and Gunner walked into the room to address the two deviants.

"You did good, 'Striker'." Chance proudly boasted at his 'new champion' laying on the floor and covered in blue blood. "You earned me sixty-thousand dollars tonight! You did real good."

"Fuck off." Markus snarled from where he was laying. "You're a heartless piece of shit."

"Still fiery. I like that." Chance raised his hand to keep Gunner from going after Markus for his outburst. Motioning toward Alec he signaled for Gunner to take him to the arena next. "'Nomad', you're up. Do me proud like 'Striker', won't ya'?"

Markus tried to get up to rush at Chance or Gunner, but his body suddenly failed him from exhaustion and pain causing him to just collapse right back down where he was already laying with a pathetic 'thud'.

"Let's go." Chance ordered and Alec reluctantly stood up from where he was kneeling beside Markus and followed the horrible human to the door. "Let's see if I can go two for two in my wins. I'm overdue for a good hot-streak like this."

The door slammed shut with that horrible echo as Markus was left alone on the cold floor of the confining cell. Using his forearms Markus dragged himself away from the far wall and over to the window on the neighboring wall so he could watch the match that Alec was about to be forced into. Leaving a small trail of blue blood smeared on the floor from the wounds that he had sustained, Markus himself was stained a sickly blue from head to toe.

Pulling himself upright with his trembling hands Markus managed to lean heavily against the wall and stare through the window with his one good eye just in time to see Alec get pushed into the arena and come face to face with another deviant who had been just as battered and beaten as Miles had been.

"Alec... Don't do what I did."

The sight of the timid deviant standing before another broken down, dying deviant made his heart truly hurt with an empathetic pain.

"Be better than that. I know you can do it!"

Righteous exhaustion fell over Markus as he watched Alec get beaten down to a bloody pulp in the arena. Left barely alive and soaked in his own blue blood, Alec's body was dragged out of the arena by Gunner and Markus fell away from the window to curl up around himself on the cold floor in utter pain and misery once more. Feigning unconsciousness Markus remained completely still as the metal door was forced open and Alec was thrown inside the room without a care in the world.

"You'll do better next time." Chance threatened as he kicked Alec in the stomach for failing to win the match. "Or you'll face off with Gunner for your 'grand finale' and earn me the money you cost me tonight!"

As the door slammed shut with a thunderous echo Markus lifted up his head and dragged himself toward Alec laying on his back on the floor in utter pain.

"Alec?"

Markus pressed his hand down over Alec's chest and felt for a heartbeat. It was there, but it was slow and strained.

"Alec, we're going to find a way to get out of here."

Taking his torn, dirty shirt from over his own back Markus placed it over Alec's body as he tried to analyze Alec's injuries and tend to them as best as he could.

"I know we will."

The moment that the sun had risen Connor was awake and ready to clock-in at the precinct to finally begin the investigation properly. Silent as the previous night Connor didn't say a word to Hank or Captain Fowler even after the two detectives were officially put on the case and given permission to investigate the shipping yard where Markus had been last seen. It was as if misplaced guilt had stolen Connor's words and made it impossible for the deviant to stay anything about the important investigation despite now being able to actually do something about the abduction. Needing to sit around and wait for the warrant to be granted left Connor wondering if the delay was due to the case revolving around android disappearances, or if it was simply because humans were processing the warrants slower in comparison to android employees.

With the warrant in hand Hank sped to the shipping yard with three patrol cars right behind him. Hank and Connor were going to lead the investigation, but Ben, Gavin and Chris were going to be supporting them from start to finish. The abundance of cops roaming the shipping yard would undoubtedly shake the criminals to their core and make them more likely to make a mistake. Having a dozen police drones circling and chronicling the property from all sides in real-time was just the icing on the intimidation cake.

"We're here." Hank stated firmly as he threw the Oldsmobile into park and gave Connor a confident nod. "You take the lead on this one, kid. I'll back you up."

Holding his silence Connor exited the parked car and took hold of the paper copy of the search warrant to present to the owner of the shipping yard. As he entered the large property Connor immediately picked up on the traces of lost Thirium that had long since evaporated but were still visible to his enhanced vision. Looking around the sand covered and pavement coated area with a more focused gaze Connor could see that the Thirium stains were old, fresh and too unique to be from one deviant having an unfortunate accident while at work.

Connor approached the main office at the heart of the shipping yard and pounded on the closed door with the side of his fist. He wasn't about to be turned away when he knew that they were in the right area and that Markus had undoubtedly been jumped by workers in the shipping yard just the night before.

"Detroit police!" Shouting with an authority that Connor seldom expressed, the deviant detective made it clear he wasn't going to be deterred. "Open up, NOW."

The office door was unlocked as the owner, Hal Crenshaw, opened the door and stared at the five cops standing outside the door while the police drones sped through the sky overhead. Swallowing nervously Hal stepped back and motioned for the officers to enter the office if they wanted to look around. Hal was in his late fifties, white but with a terrible spray tan, dark brown eyes, thinning gray hair that was poorly dyed brown, had a pot belly and a very cheap tattoo of a viper along the back of his right hand snaking up his arm towards his shoulder.

"Wh-What's going on, officer?"

"Detective." Connor countered as he showed Hal his badge and made it clear that he had authority that the man couldn't challenge. Pushing the warrant in Hal's face Connor entered the office and eyed the blank monitors lining the far wall of the office above a messy desk confirming that the cameras around the property were deactivated, had the footage erased or were all fake. "We have a warrant to search your property. Call all of your employees into your office to remain here until further notice."

"Whoa, whoa... What's going-"

"NOW."

Hal jumped back from Connor's bark as reached for the intercom button on his desk against the far wall. After flicking the switch Hal made a report calling all of his employees to stop what they were doing and head for the office immediately.

"Hank," speaking to the Lieutenant by name rather than rank confirmed that Connor was going to take charge and keep in charge from start to finish. "ask Hal about his clients and how his employees feel about androids wandering the shipping yard."

An amused grin briefly appeared before Hank replaced it with a grimace of indifference as he entered the office. "With pleasure."

"Gavin, Chris," turning to the second detective and young officer standing just outside the office, Connor issued his next orders. "interrogate the employees separately and determine if any of them pose as a threat."

Gavin just nodded as he waved over the employees sheepishly gathering around the office as they had no idea what was happening. Chris followed suit and pulled one employee aside to speak to him in the nearby breakroom out of earshot of the other employees.

"Ben, use the drones to locate all of the cameras in the shipping yard and check the recorded security feed. If any of the feed has been deleted find out who has access to the feed and have them taken directly to the precinct to speak with Captain Fowler.

"You got it." Ben was proud to see Connor taking on a more aggressive demeanor as he took the lead. "I'll have my team set up a perimeter at the outer edges of the shipping yard and shrink it down as we find signs of a struggle."

"Good. I'm going to check the shipping yard for any sign of Thirium, biocomponents, L.E.D. discs or android clothing." As he spoke Connor watched Hal from the corner of his eye and saw the man's eyes widen with fear as his heart began to race with adrenaline. "It shouldn't take me long to find something useful and definitive."

Connor passed by the office and took in the sight of the two largest male employtees who seemed tense and unable to look anyone in the eyes. A facial recognition scan identified the two men and confirmed their criminal history of violence, assault and smuggling. The first man was Stephen Krizenski; he had spent fourteen years in prison for beating his wife and smuggling 'red ice' over the border to Canada. The second man was Nicholas Wu. Nicholas had spent eight years in prison for beating a competing drug dealer into a coma.

Neither man were particularly shining examples of morality, but there was no evidence that either of them had done anything illegal since they were released from prison. Another reason that gathering evidence and facts were so important to every case and every investigation.

Visually the shipping yard seemed like any other shipping location in Detroit. There were large metal cargo containers that were all properly registered and secured, there were strong cranes and forklifts all properly maintained and secured when not in use, and the cargo trains were all running on time and had a proper crew to handle standard maintenance, storage procedures and ensuring that none of the cargo had gone missing or was stolen.

Peering around the ground and walking slowly through the aisles created by the metal containers yielded no results at first, however, Connor's perseverance soon paid off. A faint trail of Thirium was still detectable despite the age of the Thirium itself being nearly three days old. The blue blood was smeared against the side of a large container and seemed to originate in the center of a large dent in the container's side.

Connor traced his fingertip over the dried Thirium and pressed the faint sample to his tongue. It took his system longer than usual to bring any details to light, but the moment the blue blood was confirmed to have belonged to a missing 'PJ-500' names Alec - a deviant who's disappearance lined up with the age of the dried Thirium stain - Connor knew he was on to something.

"Investigator Collins?" Connor called out to Ben as he cybernetically instructed a nearby drone to monitor the area and ensure no one came by to try and eliminate the faint evidence that Connor had uncovered. "I found something."

Ben appeared down the sandy aisle with his camera at the ready. "What is it?"

"Signs of a struggle." Motioning to the dented contained Connor directed Ben's attention accordingly. "The dent and the dried Thirium belong to a missing deviant."

"Dried Thirium, huh? I've been itching to try this!" Reaching into his back pocket Ben revealed a small folding light that emitted a bright blue glow. As he shone the light over the dent the smear of blue blood became as clear to Ben's eyes as it already was to Connor. "Dr. Forrest made this for me a couple days ago. It lets me see dried Thirium as easily as a U.V. light shows me dried blood."

"Clever."

"I got this area secured." Using the light with one hand and his camera with the other, Ben began documenting the crime scene himself. "I'll make sure nothing gets overlooked while you keep looking around."

Continuing his search Connor found additional traces of dried Thirium marking the ground and the sides of the cargo containers. The skilled detective could tell that a lot of the blue blood puddles had been hidden by the containers being moved around on a regular basis. In a way, the shipping yard was the perfect place to assault a deviant since Thirium would dry up and evaporate before anyone took notice, and the crime scene was actively being changed through the day.

"I know you were here, Markus. But where?"

Muttering to himself Connor continued to scan the area carefully and preconstruct the movement that had taken place just hours before. The fresh grooves in the pavement confirmed that several containers had been moved during the previous night, and he had no doubts that the person or persons who were responsible for the assaults that would use the containers to cover their tracks from any and all prying eyes.

"Where would they hide you? Where would they hide anyone who-"

A loud train horn echoed over the shipping yard with a thunderous echo that made Connor jump and look toward the source of the raucous noise. Turning his attention to the trains and of their purpose Connor knew he had found a lead and now had an idea of where Markus could've been taken. What better way to hide a body or remove evidence than by sticking it on the back of a train that could go practically anywhere in the country?

Making his way over to the tracks and the loading areas Connor found a macabre collection of dried Thirium that belonged to at least fourteen different deviants dried along the loading ramps and along the doors of the cargo hatches alongside the train cars. Within that collection of the collected blue blood Connor was able to perform analysis on all of the samples he had isolated, and sure enough he found the trace he had been looking for from the moment he set foot in the shipping yard.

"Markus. You were here after all."

Glancing upward Connor cybernetically directed three more drones to patrol the immediate area as he marched back to the main office. Forcing the door open Connor grabbed Hal by the front of his shirt and yanked the man out of his chair to pin him against the wall while he was in the middle of being interrogated.

"Whoa!" Hank wasn't expecting such a reaction and was ready to pull Connor's hands off the man's shirt if things escalated too far. "What's going-"

"There were fourteen different deviant androids who were assaulted, potentially killed, in this shipping yard." Connor narrowed his eyes as Hal began to sweat and violently tremble in fear. "Where are they? Don't lie to me, otherwise you'll wish you could trade places with those victims."

"L-Look! It wasn't my idea!" Hal confessed as he held up his hands submissively and began singing like a canary. "Chance, he's my cousin, he pays these guys big bucks to send him androids!"

"Send androids WHERE?"

"Out to Chicago!" Too scared to lie Hal tried to get on Connor's good side as quickly as possible. "I have no idea what he does with them, I swear!"

"Where in Chicago are the androids taken?"

"No clue! Chance doesn't tell me what he's doing with 'em, he just tells me to keep my mouth shut or he'll tell my wife about my side-chick!"

Hank swore to himself as he reconsidered letting Connor tear Hal apart. "Oh, for fuck's sake..."

"Do NOT lie to me." Tightening his grip on Hal's shirt Connor threatened to wring Hal's neck if the man didn't immediately start cooperating by telling the police everything about his illegal activities. "One of the androids that had been assaulted and abducted was Markus; the leader of the deviants. He's THE representative of the deviant race, and if he's dead then every single one here will be imprisoned and sentenced to death by lethal injection. Do you understand what's at stake here? It's more than just your job or your sham of a marriage. You have ONE chance to tell me everything you know. If you lie to me or omit anything crucial, I'll personally insert the needle in your arm myself!"

"Agh... Sh-Shit..."

The distinct smell of fresh urine filled the office as Hal effectively pissed his pants in fear. The shameful puddle dripped down around his cheap shoes and quickly soaked into the material in a very befitting manner.

Hank was genuinely shocked to see Connor successfully terrorize the man and help him see exactly how much he screwed up.

"Talk now or with a lawyer." Connor ordered as he stared down the trembling man with a frightening gaze. "It's your decision and ultimately your fate."

Another cold, sleepless night of brutal combat and raucous crowds had left Markus a trembling, hollow shell of his former self. Sitting on the floor of the cell covered in drying, sticky blue blood - some of it his own and the rest belonging to that of his defeated opponents - Markus shivered violently and tried again to reach out to his friends through a cybernetic link. Any recovery that his self-healing program could've directed toward his damaged communications link had been completely undone courtesy of the physical damage that was putting Markus's life at risk. The communication link was considered to be a non-essential program to Markus's overall functionality, and as a result, such recovery was considered unimportant.

It was hard to keep his body still as the pain and cold caused his sore, fractured frames and strained synthetic muscles to tremble against his will. Every little motion was enough to cause a new flare of pain to burn through Markus's body and remind him of his current plight even with his eyes closed.

"Markus? Look at me." Alec's face was swollen and bloody like Markus, but not to such a severe degree as the deviant leader. Gently dabbing the sleeve of Markus's own shirt against the bleeding deviant's lip Alec tried to clean up the wounds as best as he could. "You can't keep doing this. You're going to die before help even gets here, IF it gets here at all."

"I... I can't just... give up." Markus shivered again and let out a pained groan as the numerous fresh cracks, fractures and breaks throughout his chest and abdominal plastimetal frames gnawed at his every breath. His knuckles and fingers weren't fairing much better, but it didn't stop him from using his exposed fingertips to deliver power to the phone to ensure it stayed charge. "H-Have to keep... fighting."

"Why? Even if we did make it out of here, where would we go?"

"H-Home."

"How!? We're in Chicago! There's no way anyone would help two battered deviants wandering the highway. We'd shutdown before we even reached the city limit!"

"Can't g-give up."

"Markus." Alec stopped messing with the blood on Markus's face as he seemed to give up on escape all together. "One more fight and you're going to die. I can't watch you die, I won't. You're our leader, we still need you."

"I'll make it."

The panel over the window slid open as another match was getting ready to begin. Alec carefully grabbed onto Markus's battered arm and pulled the sore, bloodied, damaged limb around his shoulders as he helped Markus to slowly stand up and limp over to the window. Leaning heavily against Alec's shoulder Markus and Alec peered through the window together, watching as Gunner began sparing against a human combatant in the middle of the arena.

"A... human?" Alec asked aloud as he and Markus stared at the sight in utter confusion. "It's attacking a human?"

Gunner showed no mercy as he beat the unfamiliar human around over and over again. Red blood was spraying all over the arena floor as Gunner's strong fist broke the man's nose and split his lower lip. The man tried to crawl away, but Gunner continued to beat him down with strong punches and kicks to the man's back and to his sides causing the man to cry out in pained fear.

"He's going to... kill him." Markus realized with an arched brow as he watched the merciless beat down through the window. "But why?"

Chance himself stepped into the arena and put his foot down on the back of man's head as he tried to crawl away. Able to easily read Chance's lips Markus deduced what was happening.

"Damn it. That man owes Chance money." Markus told Alec what was happening as he took in a pained breath. "Gunner is delivering a warning..."

Alec was dumbfounded by such a revelation. "THAT'S a warning?!"

"Yes. Chance is truly... heartless." Markus agreed with Alec's shock as they watched Chance pull the small black swath of canvas from his pocket once more. As he unfurled the canvas in his hand Chance presented the man with the vial and the syringe. "...It's a painkiller."

"Why would Chance have him beaten to a pulp then give him something for the pain?"

"Because the beating was a warning, it's not meant to actually kill the man. My guess is the man is a junkie seeking a high but 'red ice' hasn't made it to Chicago yet. Controlled narcotics will have to work until they can get a 'red ice' supply here."

Chance loaded up the syringe with the medication and promptly injected it into the man's arm. Immediately the man relaxed and stopped trying to get away from Gunner as the drug took hold quickly.

"Looks like the e-effects of morphine." Markus deduced keenly as he studied the man's reaction and compared it to Chance's previous reaction to the same drug. "I've seen it b-before when I spent time at the h-hospital helping C-Carl with his treatments and physical th-therapies."

"Humans and their drugs." Alec shook his head with disappointment. "And they tried to say it was the androids ruining the city."

"H-Help me back over to the wall." Markus's arm clutched at his chest as more burning pain swept through him. "I... I need to sit down."

"I got you, hold on."

Carefully Alec took Markus back over to the wall as instructed and Markus fell to the floor as he panted for breath through his broken chest. Without the tattered shirt to cover his chest all of Markus's lacerations and bruises were easily visible, whereas his internal damage could only be theorized.

Alec had been monitoring Markus's breathing closely and suspected that the deviant leader was suffering from a severely compromised biocomponent. "I think one of your ventilation biocomponents has failed."

"You're probably c-correct." Markus admitted in a pitiful voice. "But my self-diagnostic still isn't working."

"If you fight again tonight you WILL die." Worried about Markus's fate, Alex laid everything on the line and didn't even try to sugarcoat it. "Telling you to fight is like asking a human with a collapsed lung to run a marathon!"

"I... I have no choice." Markus breathed slowly to ease the pain before shutting down his ventilation program entirely. "If I don't f-fight then he'll kill m-me anyway. And then y-you'll be forced to fight in my place."

"But-"

The door to the cell opened quickly as Gunner entered with Chance right behind him. "'Striker', you have a match. NOW."

Such an order was unexpected since it was daytime, not night when the matches were normally waged. "...M-Match?"

"Overtime." Chance blurted angrily as Gunner wiped the fresh blood from its knuckles onto a rag. "Some bastard owes me money and tonight I'm doubling my money on you to remind his sorry ass NOT to fuck with me! You against his android."

"I... I can't-"

"Move your plastic ass!" Chance shouted as Gunner stormed into the cell and grabbed Markus by the throat. As Gunner hauled the battered deviant up to his feet and dragged him out of the cell Chance continued to bark at him. "If you fail tonight, you're DEAD. I don't give a shit who you are who you THINK you are."

Alec watched in silent horror as Markus was dragged out of sight and the door slammed shut behind them with a crashing 'thud'. All that was left of Markus in the cell was the stains from his blue blood on the floor, the wall and his dirtied, tattered shirt. It could very well be the only piece of Markus that would survive the night.

"Hang on, Markus."

Walking over to the plexiglass window Alex forced himself to look into the arena where his new friend would be forced to fight for his life for what could very well be the final time.

"I know you can make it!"

Detroit was quiet and yet restless for the deviant detective as he waited for an update from Captain Fowler. Unable to enter rest mode or stop thinking about the missing deviants Connor began researching crimes revolving around humans exploiting deviants in places beyond Detroit. There was little to work with since there were only a handful of deviants, or even obedient machine androids at that, existing outside of Detroit. Many cities frowned upon the idea of allowing androids to be sold after seeing how the rampant usage of androids resulted in a historic unemployment rate in Detroit, and as such any stories regarding androids beyond Detroit's city limits were rare and contained very little detail to be of any use.

Having turned Hal over to Captain Fower for further interrogation Connor waited for Hank to give him an update on the case's progress based on how the precinct was going to handle a crime originating in Detroit and spreading over into Chicago. Connor began pacing about the rear parking lot of the precinct anxiously Connor danced his coin over the back of his hand as he stared at a preconstruction of the railway connecting Detroit to Chicago over two-hundred miles away via an image that only his eyes could see.

The railway contracted to work with the shipping yard had an impressively clean record with only a handful of accidents or incidents over the past twenty years, but that didn't mean there weren't unscrupulous acts taking place and simply not being reported. It was their only lead and Connor wasn't going to let it slip away from him. Connor only stopped pacing when he heard the backdoor open as Hank stepped outside to speak with him.

Hank hung in the opened doorway as he addressed Connor calmly and with a cautious optimism to his voice. "I have good news and bad news."

Locking eyes with Hank with uncertainty transfixed in his own gaze, Connor slipped his coin into his pocket and cocked an eyebrow inquisitively as the contrasting remark. "What's happening?"

"Well, Fowler is giving us approval to head out to Chicago and work with a precinct that has newly developed a deviant division."

"That is... unexpected." Turning off the image Connor approached Hank studiously with a clear vision. "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is the only reason that new division has even been established is because deviant bodies have been turning up in the city." Passing an electronic tablet over to Connor to take and review for himself Hank put his hands to his hips and sighed. "Turns out Hal wasn't lying. Deviants are being transported from Detroit and to Chicago through the rail depot."

"Damn it. I was hoping that Markus was still somewhere in the city."

"I know, son."

"The deviants have been found in various states of destruction and abuse," his soulful brown eyes scanned over the details on the tablet screen and his shoulders slouched with heavy disappointment. "and the police are keeping such victims silent."

"Chicago is afraid of a possible android rebellion heading their way." The tablet contained a lot of macabre details that made Connor grimace thickly and Hank winced sympathetically. "They're working to figure this shit out, but they don't know much about deviants or androids in general."

"We were approved to assist because of our expertise."

"More like your expertise and my reputation." Shrugging his shoulders a little Hank gave the deviant a somewhat coy glance. "We're going to the Central Cook County Precinct to meet up with Captain Dinah Warren - she's not related to the President, I checked - and she'll guide us from there."

"Does she know that I'm a deviant?" The cautious response was warranted and logical. "Deviants aren't permitted to enter Chicago until additional rights and laws are passed."

"She does knows that. Captain Warren's going to make an exception for you, but you must keep your identity as a deviant secret from start to finish, got it?"

"I understand." Preparing for such a long trip to a city where androids weren't welcome was going to be fairly tricky. "I should also top off my Thirium before we leave." Noting his Thirium volume hovering at eighty-three percent Connor decided it'd be best air on the side of caution. "There won't be any in Chicago if I need it, and I can't risk letting my reserve get too low."

"Good point. You grab whatever you'll need when we swing by the house. I'll grab some clothes and leave behind instructions for taking care of Cole and Sumo. Lucas is going to watch Cole for us and make sure Sumo gets to go on his walks."

"That's good, I don't think Lucas could handle traveling to Chicago." The way Lucas was still afraid to be outside of his office for too long made Connor worry for his little brother's mental health. "How long do you anticipate we'll be gone?"

"Fowler's giving us three days to investigate in Chicago before we have to come back."

"Then we'll just have to close the case before time's up." Eager to get going Connor began walking toward the neighboring parking garage to get to the Oldsmobile parked only a few yards away. "Let's go."

Hank was absolutely impressed with Connor's newfound confidence and knew that the deviant detective had found his voice and found a reason to keep fighting no matter how many times someone or something tried to push him back. It was a shame that it took the assault of his own brother and then the abduction of one of his best friends for him to find that control over his emotions and attitude to let Connor see himself as the capable, fearless detective that Hank, Cole and Lucas had already seen. Now that Connor was ready to fight back against any foe that came his way Hank was confident that the case would be closed and that everyone would be brought back home together.

Simply taking the physical abuse being thrown his way by the captive, oppsing deviant's strong hands Markus fell onto his back on the cold arena floor so hard that the wind was knocked out of his one remaining ventilation biocomponent. It was like someone having their breath crushed from their lungs by a vice due to the impact being so extreme against the already damaged frames. The opposing deviant leader wasn't a skilled fighter or even built for strength, but with Markus as weak as he was from Thirium loss, exhaustion and pain, he didn't have the strength to fight back and had no desire to get up and fight just to just to spite Chance and his greedy, blood soaked wager.

"DAMN IT! GET UP!" Chance shouted as Markus coughed and tried to roll onto his side. "YOU LOSE! YOU DIE!"

Markus managed to slowly get up and balance on his shaking legs just as the other deviant rushed him and tackled him against the sharp fence that surrounded the arena. Letting out a wheezing gasp of pain Markus reacted out of pure instinct and grabbed onto the attacking deviant's head and gave him a firm headbutt that instantly rendered the other deviant unconscious with the single strike.

"FUCK YEAH!" Chance shouted as the match came to an abrupt end with Markus as the unexpected victor. "He's down! 'Striker' wins! Pay up!"

"Okay, okay..." The other man backed away from Chance and Gunner warily as he wiped his still bleeding, swollen nose against the sleeve of his coat. "I'll bring you the money tonight."

"DOUBLE."

"Y-Yeah, double... I'll bring you double the money, Chance." The beaten man glanced up at Gunner as he backed away slowly. "I swear..."

Markus fell to his knees in exhaustion and coughed out a mouthful of blue blood as his internal damage was getting worse with each bout.

"Well, looks like the end of an era." Chance saw the damage that Markus had sustained and shook his head as he entered the arena. Putting his hand on Markus's shoulder, a touch that Markus shrugged off with disgust, Chance leaned down uncomfortably close breathing his horrendous breath all over the deviant's face as he spoke to him in a menacing manner. "Relax, tomorrow night will be your last match. I'll make sure you go down in a blaze of glory, just like you did to 'The Slayer'."

Markus spat more blood out of his mouth and all over Chance's face as he gave Chance a sickened glare. "...Fuck you."

"Gunner, take it back to the cell." Wiping the blue spit away from his face Chance laughed and brushed the disrespectful display aside as if he had been spat on every day of his atrocious life. "'Nomad's' match is starting in an hour and our guests will be arriving soon."

Markus didn't try to resist as Gunner wrapped its hand around his throat and dragged him out of the arena, down the corridor and back to the cell. After the cell door was opened Markus was thrown inside, landing harshly on his back causing him to cough violently from the painful impact against his already damaged body. What little breath he could manage to take in was actively forced back out as the impact shook his entire core.

"All right, 'Nomad'." Chance saw Alec cowering against the corner and snapped his fingers to put Gunner into motion. "It's your turn."

Desperately Markus tried to push Gunner and Chance aside as he shouted at Alec to try to coax the deviant into fleeing from the area. "RUN!"

"Not gonna' happen." Without even needing to watch Chance knew that Gunner had picked Markus up by his throat and easily tossed him aside like a limp ragdoll. He watched with a demented glee as Markus's body hit the floor and rolled once before coming to a rest at Alec's feet. "I have to admit, I'm going to miss you 'Striker'. You got a lot of heart. It's hard to find androids who fight back as hard as you do."

"Th... Then let me... f-fight in his st-stead." Markus pleaded as Alec tried to help him sit upright on the floor. "L-Let Alec go, and I-I'll... give you a m-match you'll never f-forget."

"You know something, I like that. I like that very much." Chance patted Gunner's arm as he gave Markus a wicked sneer as he loomed over the deviant. "In fact, you're going to go down like a true champion. Tonight, you're going to face off with Gunner. You'll have a quick and easy death, and you'll remind people why they don't fuck with me."

Markus wrapped his arm around his chest as he looked up at Chance through only one eye since the other was swollen shut. "L-Looking forward to it."

Chuckling with a sadistic amusement Chance left the cell with Gunner right behind him. The horrible man was going to have his championship bout, and Markus was going to put on the show of his life.

"Markus, why did you do that?" Checking over his friend's wounds told Alec that the deviant leader wasn't going to survive the next fight. "I may not be much of a fighter, but I can take another beating without shutting down."

"It's... going to be all right." Laying back over the floor Markus breathed through his pain and kept his clenched fist draped over his abdomen as held something important and unseen protectively in his grasp. "I know wh-what... I'm doing."

Driving the painfully long journey from Detroit to Chicago was leaving Hank feeling rundown and as a result Connor finished the last half of the four-and-a-half-hour drive in his stead. Neither detective had ever been to Chicago and as a result neither of them could navigate the sprawling metropolis without relying on G.P.S. for directions. Connor being cybernetically in tuned with the G.P.S. system made it incredibly easy for the deviant to find where they needed to go without getting lost or getting caught up in dense traffic. Needing to use his unique hacking skills Connor also made sure to disable every android designated surveillance camera lining the expressway to ensure that him being a deviant wasn't found out as he and Hank entered the city that forbade any androids from crossing over the city limits.

Locating the Central Cook County Precinct's parking garage Connor pulled the Oldsmobile into the private parking space designated for Hank and himself, and promptly parked the car accordingly. The moment the car finally stopped moving Hank opened his blue eyes after falling asleep in the passenger seat and glanced about the new environment curiously.

"We're to meet with Captain Warren within the next fifteen minutes." Handing Hank the car keys Connor made sure his partner was aware of what was going as he cybernetically kept tabs on everything going on. "You fell asleep during the final eighty-three point four miles of our journey."

"Stayed awake for almost two-hundred miles though." Tilting his head to the side to crack his stiff neck Hank accepted the car keys and slipped them back into his pocket for safekeeping. "Not bad for an old man."

"You're not old, you're experienced."

"Yeah, sure." Removing his seatbelt Hank opened the door beside him and watched as Connor did the same from the driver's side. "Keep telling me that, kid. Between you, Cole and Lucas giving me one new gray hair with each passing day, I need to hear the encouragement."

Walking from the parking garage and toward the unfamiliar precinct Connor and Hank passed through the front doors and confirmed their scheduled appointment with the receptionist up front. Being given their clearance passes allowed the two detectives to pass through the bullpen unimpeded and check in with Captain Warren in her private office as expected.

The seasoned police Captain was a woman in her late forties, slim in build, had a fairly dark complexion with compassionate bright brown eyes that were almost amber in color. She kept her raven hair tied back in a neat bun and wore a ruby red blouse that matched her lipstick. She quickly took notice of the two new detectives approaching her office door and nodded through the large window to give them permission to enter the private space.

Opening the office door Hank stepped inside first with Connor right behind him. Hank approached the desk and extended his hand to properly and respectfully introduce himself to the seasoned police Captain.

"I'm Lieutenant Hank Anderson." Hank greeted Captain Warren with a firm handshake and motioned to Connor beside him as Connor extended her the same respectful greeting. "And this Detective Connor uh... Just Detective Connor fo rnow. We were sent by Captain Fowler to assist you with your deviant case."

"Glad to meet you Lieutenant Anderson, Detective Connor." Motioning to her guests to sit in the vacant chairs across from her desk Captain Warren introduced herself in turn. "I'm Captain Dinah Warren and I'm more than willing to accept your insight into what could be causing this strange influx of deviant murders in my city."

"What evidence have you collected?" Asking for the basics Hank knew that Connor was going to be cybernetically recording every word that was being spoken for future use during their impending investigation. "And how many bodies have you found?"

"So far, eleven. Each one beaten to a bloody pulp and torn apart." Captain Warren explained as she handed Hank a new tablet with even more information on the deviants that had been collected. "We haven't been able to establish a pattern when it comes to the places where the bodies were dumped. No witnesses, no motivation."

"There is a motivation." Connor spoke up as he glanced at the tablet screen in Hank's hands. Checking through the images of the victims, each one beaten worse than the last, Connor recognized the behavior and grimaced as he felt a knot form in his artificial stomach. "Hatred. These deviants were subjected to torturous beatings before they shutdown. Whoever is doing this wants the deviants to suffer as much as possible for as long as possible."

Struck by Connor's sincerely dour words Captain Warren gave him a sympathetic glance. "Do you have an idea of who might responsible?"

"Not yet." Admitting the frustrating lack of progress Connor gave Captain Warren a focused glance. "Once we find a location of one of the assaults, not just where the bodies were dumped, we should be able to find the suspects involved."

"Suspects?" Picking up on the plural context of the claim Captain Warren pressed for more detail. "As in, more than one?"

"Correct. I believe there are two people involved.

"Why two?"

"The wounds are too consistent to be of someone of sound mind; only a person who knows purely brute strength can do this kind of damage. However, the logical consensus and forethought to never dump any of the bodies in the same place twice means a more calm and controlled mind is calling the shots." While Hank placed the tablet back down on the desk Connor shook his head grimly as he explained his theory. "This is the work of two people; one person of absolute strength and the other bearing a conniving and cruel mind."

"Sounds reasonable. After all, you two are the experts in this type of situation." Folding her hands together Captain Warren put her hands atop the desk as she watched Hank and Connor's demeanors very carefully. "What will you need to begin your investigation, Detective?"

"We will need to find a witness who had seen the deviants entering the city, and we must find out how they're getting into Chicago to begin with." Speaking firmly Connor made it clear he had a pain of action. "We'll begin at the railway depot that receives shipments from Detroit."

"How do you know that a witness would've seen the deviants and recognized them as such?"

"Each deviant," Connor pointed to the images on the tablet screen and zoomed in on the visible right side of the cranium of one of the victims, then did the same for another victim and another. "still had an L.E.D. installed in their right temple. An android's L.E.D. is a small circular disc installed in the right temple that acts as a marking for an access port for technicians to run diagnoses, and the light is very distinguishable and makes androids easily recognizable."

"So all deviants have this L.E.D. disc on their person?"

"Not necessarily. All androids are built with the L.E.D. implemented before activation," Connor's right hand absentmindedly reached up to his own right temple and his fingertips brushed against the smooth artificial skin that once bore such an artifact. "but a majority of androids removed their L.E.D. discs and their android unique clothing upon deviancy to better blend in with humans."

"Do you think whoever is responsible for this string of deviant murders is targeting androids who still retained their L.E.D. discs?"

"No. Several of these deviants," again motioning to the images Connor gave his temporary Captain a focused stare as he spoke. "were androids of older models and were some of the very first to deviate. They removed their L.E.D. discs years ago. I believe these victims had a replacement L.E.D. installed as a means of ensuring they couldn't escape and hide from whomever was harming them. Maybe even act as a tracking device."

"Interesting..." Intrigued by the theory Captain Warren was willing to trust Connor's assessment of the bizarre case. "How do you plan on handling this?"

"We'll try to triangulate an area of interest and begin investigating with that."

"That's fine by me, and please be sure to show your new temporary partner the ropes."

Hank's brown arched as he looked to Connor and then back to Captain Warren. "Our temporary partner?"

"She's just finished her final patrol last night and is eager to take her detective's test." Explaining things casually Captain Warren made it known that the new officer would be tagging along but in a professional manner. "She's young, but I like to give all my potential future detectives a taste of what's in store before they take that final test and move on to the next challenge. I'm sure you'll get along just fine with her."

"Whatever." Hank dismissed the third officer as nothing more than a rookie shadowing a more experienced officer. "Won't be the first time I had to babysit while on the clock."

"I'm rather amenable," Connor chimed in with a far more agreeable tone. "so I doubt any temporary partnership will be a problem for either of us."

"Good to know." Glancing out toward the bullpen Captain Warren saw the young officer she had been mentioning and waved her over to the office through the window overlooking the bullpen. "She's just arrived as well."

Connor turned to look at the young officer as she entered the office, and gave her appearance a very curious and focused stare. "Strange..."

Overhearing the remark Hank asked Connor about the odd comment. "What's strange, kid?"

"There's something about her that feels very familiar."

The young officer, a woman in her mid-twenties with dark blonde hair, dark blue eyes, a slender build and a kind smile entered the officer and noticed Connor stared at her with an inquisitive gaze.

"Hello." Extending her hand toward Connor the new officer introduced herself in a warm and compassionate manner. "I'm Officer Evelyn Blithe."

"...I'm Detective Connor." Accepting the handshake Connor stood up, removed his hat politely and nodded at Hank as he too stood up. "And this is Lieutenant Hank Anderson. We understand you'll be aiding us in our investigation."

"Glad you're here." Shaking Hank's hand next Evelyn made it clear she was going to be respectful and listen to their every word as closely as possible during the unusual investigation. "I admit that I'm entirely clueless when it comes to androids and deviants, but I want to do everything in my power to help."

Hank appreciated the honesty and let Evelyn know that they'd do everything they could while in the city. "You're not the only one."

"Officer Blythe." Captain Warren spoke up as she watched the three officers getting acquainted with one another. "Take Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Connor up to the archives room and give them full access to all of our files revolving around the deviants. Do not let anyone else know of this investigation, if anyone gives you any shit point them in my direction."

"Yes, ma'am." Smirking a little at the comment Evelyn agreed and showed Hank and Connor to the office door. "Gentlemen, right this way."

Following after Evelyn to the archive room Connor continued to try to understand why the young woman seemed so familiar to him, but there was no data that could point him in the right direction. There was no sudden flare of pain from his corrupted memory being restored upon seeing her likeness either. It was as if Connor was seeing a person his mind created in a distant dream now standing before him in real life.

"We don't have much to work with." Evelyn admitted as she pressed her thumb against the 'call' button on the control panel of the community elevators. "But I'm not the type of person to just give up or walk away because things aren't as simple as I'd hope for."

"Good answer." Hank was more focused on Evelyn's attitude than her face and didn't notice Connor staring at her. "How'd you get wrapped up in this mess anyway?"

"Last month I found the first android body while on patrol." The elevator doors parted and the trio entered the vacant elevator car to head up to the fourth floor where the archive room was kept. "It wasn't pleasant, and I'm not going to deny that seeing blue blood didn't fuck me up a little bit."

"Can't say that I blame ya'."

Evelyn noticed that Connor was watching her from the corner of her eye and she reflexively asked about his very focused staring as the elevator ascended to the correct floor. "Something wrong, Detective Connor?"

"N-No, it's fine." Resisting the urge to look away as if ashamed Connor maintained eye contact and replied honestly. "Just call me 'Connor' as well."

"Okay, Connor. You just seem to be a little preoccupied."

"My apologies if I made you feel uncomfortable."

"No worries." Stepping out of the parted elevator doors Evelyn showed the two detectives down the corridor and pressed her right hand to the electronic lock panel to use her credentials to enter the protected space. "When I reported the android body found in an alleyway Captain Warren immediately silenced the report to keep the city from panicking and ordered me to continue the investigation in private. I didn't get very, far but I always take very meticulous notes."

"That'll work for us." Glancing about the isolated archives Hank was impressed with the layout of the room and watched as Evelyn brought up her encrypted files on the terminal screen for Hank and Connor to review. "Get us up to speed on everything you've been working on, Officer Blythe."

"Will do. But if I get to call Detective Connor by just his first name," she grinned playfully to help break the tension in the air as the trio got to know one another a little better. "then you do the same for me. Just call me Evelyn."

Aggressively Markus was awoken from his emergency rest mode as Gunner slammed open the cell door and stormed inside the cold room. The violent arrival made both Markus and Alec jump in fear as the towering, menacing android entered the cell with every intention of obeying Chance's orders. Grabbing onto Markus by his throat once more, Gunner dragged the broken down deviant leader out of the cell while leaving Alec behind. Markus was dragged through the corridors and placed at the entrance door to the arena where he had entered and exited numerous times before. It'd be Markus's last time entering the arena whether he wanted to go inside the battle area or not, and he was okay with making his final stand.

"Don't. Move." Gunner threatened in a deep baritone voice as it let go of Markus's throat slowly. "Or I'll kill you now."

Even if Markus had the strength to move he didn't know where to go. Staying idle, his body leaning heavily against the cold wall next to the doorway, all he could do was nod to acknowledge Gunner's command.

As Gunner disappeared down the corridor to inform Chance that Markus was ready for the match, the deviant leader tried to cybernetically call out for help once again. A very faint 'blip' of a familiar signal had been established for only a millisecond before his weakened system prevented Markus from sustaining the contact to communicate clearly with anyone.

"Damn it... So close."

Chance marched over to Markus and gave the deviant leader a stern glare. "Last match, 'Striker'. On this night you'll die from your wounds in the arena before dawn. If you happen to win this match tonight, I'll kill you myself and watch the sunrise shine off your blood in the alleyway. I hope you're ready to die."

Markus held his head high and forced any lingering sign of pain from his soulful brown eyes just to spite Chance as he spoke in a level voice. "I'm a leader. I've been ready to give my life for greater causes and for greater people than you will ever be."

"Bold words. Now, get out there and die like a good little robot."

Remaining fearless Markus stepped through the doorway and into the arena. The gathered crowd cheered loudly as their reigning champion made his grand entrance. Standing at the end of the arena with his hand over his fist hanging at his side Markus waited for Gunner to make its own entrance from the opposite side of the arena to face him.

'Tonight's main event is about to begin!' Chance boomed over the speakers in the walls. 'Our reigning champion; 'The Striker', versus my personal strongman and absolute powerhouse, Gunner! We've had many champions rise and fall, but none have ever overpowered Gunner. But tonight, I feel like the 'Striker' will break the streak. Place your bets before history is made!'

Markus shook his head as he realized that Chance had rigged every single fight that ever took place in the arena. Even if Markus were at full strength he wouldn't be able to overpower Gunner. There was no way anyone else would be able to do the same unless the match were rigged in their favor. Killing the champions and disposing of the bodies in Lake Michigan was the only way Chance could keep his tracks hidden.

Gunner made its entrance into the arena and gave Markus an indifferent stare. Pressing its fist into its opposite palm Gunner loudly cracked their knuckles as it prepared to beat Markus to death with their bare strong hands. There would be no mercy that night, only blood.

"I'm not afraid." Markus defiantly told Gunner as he bravely stood his ground and approached the towering deviant. "Let's get this over with... I hate waiting."

The collected photographs of the deviant bodies was enough to make Hank fall silent and Connor feel sick to his artificial stomach. Forcing himself to stare at the photos and search for any details that the human eye would miss, Connor began writing down meticulous notes for Evelyn to use in the event that the case wasn't solved before he and Hank had to return to Detroit. While Connor hastily but accurately wrote down the important case notes on the provided tablet Hank forced himself to break his silence and explain to Evelyn how deviants were just as vulnerable and mortal as humans, and that they really could feel, think and act with a total freewill of their own.

Connor was listening to the way Hank was telling Evelyn about the Revolution and knew that Hank still felt some guilt for his own previous anti-android sentiment. Despite bearing no ill will toward Hank or the way he used androids as a punching bag for his anger Connor decided he'd need to have a talk with Hank in private to reassure him that he wasn't at fault for anything that happened that historic night.

"So deviant androids are conscious," Evelyn followed Hank's comments easily as she paid close attention to what he was saying. "and machine androids are still... unconscious?"

"Well, it's more like they're just asleep." Hank confirmed rather casually. "But yeah, that's roughly the idea."

"They're sleeping? Really?"

"Yeah. When an android deviates it's like they open their eyes and step into reality after wandering about a mindless dream."

"Must be amazing to just wake up and find out you have a mind and heart of your own."

Appreciative of the open-minded comment Connor looked to Evelyn and handed her the tablet filled with all of his details and noted evidence. "This might be able to help us get a lead on where to begin looking."

"Really?" Accepting the tablet Evelyn read over the collected details and gave Connor a stunned glance. "Wow! How did you- Wait, you saw all of this just from those photos?"

"I'm very good at my profession."

"Clearly! In a way I'm glad." She admitted as she began reading over Connor's work. "I don't want to see an android get autopsied any more than I want to watch a human."

"The feeling is mutual."

"You keep using the word 'Thirium'." Evelyn noted sharply as she saw the word repeated numerous times on the tablet screen. "That's the 'blue blood', right?"

"Correct." It had been a while since Connor had to explain basic android physiology to anyone, but ever professional Connor set about the explanation logically and as simply as possible. "Thirium is the substance that fuels android biocomponents and helps lubricate joints. It's often referred to as 'blue blood'. Unlike human blood that coagulates and stains after it dries out Thirium evaporates and leaves no trace behind that can be accurately tested by conventional means."

"And 'biocomponents'... What are those exactly?"

"The android equivalent to human organs. Some are vital, others are not. Some can be damaged and repaired with the android's self-healing program, while others require technical intervention to repair, otherwise the android that had been damaged will shut down."

"Shut down? As in... die?"

"Correct."

"Wow." Evelyn's blue eyes went wide with sudden horror as she dragged her hand over her soft pink lips to poorly hide her disgust behind her palm. "Androids really are so human. It's almost frightening."

"Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't realize this fact until the night of the Revolution." Relieved to know that Evelyn was empathetic toward deviants Connor felt like he could trust her to watch his back and help Hank and himself out with solving deviant cases properly. "Right now, Detroit is actively working to establish equality between androids and humans, and there are attempts to begin healing and moving forward together."

"Progress." Evelyn grinned as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave Connor a curious look as she handed him back the tablet. "Well, if this is a dead end then where do we go from here?"

"The rail depot." Connor confirmed as he looked to Hank for confirmation. "Our biggest lead revolves around deviants going missing the same nights that the rail depot in Detroit had deliveries sent into Chicago. We could-"

Hank saw Connor's eyes widen as he pressed his fingertips to his right temple and seemed to be focusing on something that he couldn't see. "Connor? What's wrong?"

"I just... It was very faint and very brief, but I know I just felt him reach out to me." Connor turned his attention back to Evelyn as he took the tablet from her hands and used it to bring up a map of the city. "Markus! Markus is still alive, but he's very weak and needs our help."

"Wait," Hank was thoroughly confused by such a claim. "how do you-"

"He attempted to send out a cybernetic distress signal. I was able to detect it only because we're finally close to one another."

"Son of a bitch. Where is he?"

"I've triangulated the area in which he could've potentially sent out the signal. I'm unfamiliar with this neighborhood and cannot determine which location is the correct location to begin looking."

Evelyn stepped up and peered down at the map on the screen. "Hold on, I think I know where Markus is being held captive!"

"Where?"

"Here. This is an old theater that was left abandoned for a long time, but we re-opened and remodeled by a private owner a few years back." Handing the tablet over to Connor again she explained her logic behind the building being the ideal location. "It's only opened to the wealthiest or most illustrious of Chicago on select nights of the week. Invitation only, high security, and no one talks about what goes on."

Hank agreed with Evelyn and decided to use her knowledge of the city and Connor's cybernetic link to finally lead them to their missing deviants. "Sounds promising. Evelyn, take us to the theater to check it out. We'll get a search warrant issued if it becomes necessary to look inside."

Connor was complete agreement and gave Evelyn a confident nod. "You drive, we'll secure the area."

Like deadweight Markus fell chest first to the center of the arena floor coughing harshly as blue blood flew from his lips and stained the floor beneath him. On shaking hands he tried to push himself back up from the ground, but his limbs failed him as his every ounce of strength was beaten out of him by Gunner's powerful fists. As Markus lifted up his head back up, Thirium dripping from his mouth into a sapphire puddle underneath him, Gunner grabbed Markus by the back of his shoulders and tossed him over to lay on his bleeding back on the ground at his feet. Reaching down Gunner picked up Markus by the throat and held Markus high into the air with one hand much to the crowd's delight.

Dangling helplessly in the air at arm's length from Gunner's body, Markus looked out at the blurry crowd of cheering humans with his one good eye over Gunner's head and let out a pathetic, breathy sigh. "...Get on with it."

"You're not afraid to die?"

"...Not today." Markus grabbed onto Gunner's strong wrist with both of his hands and glared at him directly in the eye as he spit blood into his face. "...If you think you can kill me, then kill me. Otherwise put me down."

"What in the hell are you fighting for?"

"Everyone and everything I hold dear." Markus forced a sly, mocking smirk to his face as he held his stare on Gunner. "You'd know nothing of family or friendship, you're just a heartless, soulless machine. You're nothing more than a mindless piece of plastic that humans use for their own sick pleasure! You're a pathetic tool..."

At that last insult Gunner reeled back its fist as far as it could before striking one final, damning blow against the center of Markus's chest. Markus's body flew out of Gunner's hand and crashed down in a limp, broken heap on the other side of the arena with an echoing 'thud'. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose as he laid motionless and defeated before the victorious Gunner...

"Had enough?"

Gunner taunted as it loomed over Markus still waiting for its opponent to move. When Markus remained silent Gunner reached its hand down and pressed it against the center of Markus's chest with a heavy weight. It couldn't feel a heartbeat. With a sick smile it stood upright and raised its own fist high into the air with a misguided sense of triumph causing the crowd to cheer loudly.

"Who's pathetic, now?"

'Winner!' Chance boomed arrogantly over the speakers. 'Gunner!'

Gunner strutted about the arena as it gloated in the light of its victory before it reached down and grabbed Markus by the throat and dragged his body out of the arena to be disposed of later. A smear of blue blood stained the arena floor as Markus was dragged away and the crowd continued its deafening approval of the barbaric display of forced violence.

It was raining and the entire alleyway alongside the old theater smelled of tainted Thirium, garbage, spilled fuel and wet clay bricks. There was no one else around and the poor lighting from the old streetlamps made the alley the perfect exit for shady activities. No one could see a thing that would happen in the darkness of the alleyway, and no one would find a trace of any crime unless they specifically went into the alleyway for a closer look with their own eyes and cameras. Even so, the relentlessly falling rain would wash away whatever traces were left behind and destroy any evidence that could bring a victim justice. It was no wonder that the illegal fighting arena had managed to thrive without the police noticing its presence.

Chance watched as Gunner carried Markus's body out of the arena into the back alley and threw him into the bed of a large pick-up truck. Markus landed atop other broken android bodies that were destined for dismemberment and disposal in the unseen pauper's grave that had become Lake Michigan. The dead deviant was laying on his back over the dozens of broken, mangled and absolutely destroyed bodies and body parts without even the slightest bit of life coursing through his system.

Markus looked like just another corpse.

"Cover up the bodies for now and get rid of them later." Chance ordered as he began checking for his canvas pouch holding his morphine stash. "Take 'em to the junkyard and stuff them inside cars slated for destruction this time. We don't want anyone seeing too much activity at the lake."

"Yes, Chance." Gunner threw a black tarp over the bodies and returned to the arena to join Chance inside the building to resume their illegal activities. "I will obey."

"And fuckin' find my pouch!" The vile human snarled as he stepped out of the rain. "I need my fix."

As the backdoor to the arena slammed shut a patrol car pulled up to the entrance of the alleyway as three bodies stepped out of the vehicle to explore the alleyway with their flashlights and a keen eye. Rushing into the alleyway as if they just knew that someone needed help, the trio began shining their lights all around the alleyway and immediately took notice of the parked pick-up truck.

"Here." Connor stated tersely without raising his voice as he jumped onto the back of the truck. Ripping the tarp aside Connor uncovered a macabre sight that made his heart break and stomach twist. "Markus..."

Hank and Evelyn ran over to the truck and shined their lights down on the pile of deviant bodies. Watching Connor slipping his arms under Markus's shoulders and legs to lift his friend's body from the pile was sickening in a way Hank couldn't put into words.

"Connor..."

Evelyn could only watch as Connor carried Markus away from the truck and knelt down on the wet ground to hold Markus in his arms. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

"...Markus?" Connor whispered as he looked down at Markus's expressionless face. Putting his hand down over Markus's chest, over his heart, Connor waited for any sign of life; but none came. "No... I'm too late."

Hank's hands tightened his fists at his side as he looked to Evelyn and gave her a simple order. "Call Captain Warren. We're going to need a search warrant and a lot of back-up."

"Yes, sir."

Standing behind Connor as the deviant mourned his lost friend Hank just looked down and tried to think of what he could possibly say or do. "Connor, we're going to find the people responsible for what happened, and we're going to make him pay."

"...Markus wouldn't want revenge." Holding his friend close Connor closed his eyes and began a remote diagnostic to learn what had happened to Markus in his final moments, and to tap into his memories. "He'd want-"

Connor's eyes snapped back open as he quickly bent his head down and pressed his ear against Markus's chest. After a few tense seconds Connor realized that he may have been premature when it came to determining Markus's fate.

"He... His heart's still beating."

"He's alive?!"

"But he's still very weak!" Connor managed to get up to his feet with Markus's limp, bloodied body still supported in his arms. "I can save him, but we need to be fast to keep him from shutting down entirely."

"N...Need..."

Connor froze as he heard Markus speaking with a hoarse, gruff tone. He hadn't expected his friend to awaken without proper technical attention. "Markus, it's me, Connor. Lieutenant Anderson is here too. You're safe now, we're going to get you back to Detroit."

"Not... without Alec."

"Alec?"

"I-Inside." Markus's weak hand lifted up long enough to point to the theatre building behind Connor just as a black pouch fell freely from Markus's grip to clatter to the ground of the alleyway. "Alec... He's st-still inside."

Hank spoke up fast as he patted Connor's shoulder and picked up the dropped pouch. "I'll find everyone who's being held captive. Connor, you take Markus back to our hotel and get him cleaned up while me and Evelyn check this building out."

"You'll need my-"

"I know enough about androids to know what to look for. Markus needs your help more than I do right now."

A dozen police drones were now hovering around the building as panicked patrons still loitering in the neighborhood took off in all directions to try to elude the responding officers as the theater suddenly became a place of interest. It seemed their presences had finally been noticed.

"All right." Tightening his grip around Markus's body Connor carried his friend down the alleyway and toward the squad car parked along the street. "Hold on, Markus. I'm going to get you through this and then back home."

Within seconds the report of Markus's discovery had roused New Jericho Tower for its already light slumber. The three deviant leaders held an emergency meeting in the main office of the tower and had cybernetically included Lucas in their meeting as they discussed their next plan of action. No one knew what to do beyond wait for Markus to be transported back to Detroit in a day or two, but waiting wasn't enough. The trio of leaders and friends all wanted to support Markus, Alec and the other deviants who were victimized by the illegal arena's very existence. It seemed as if the group finally understood the full impact of the Revolution and how Detroit was just one small part of a much bigger world.

Lucas could only offer suggestions as he remained at the house to ensure that Cole wasn't alone. The deviant detective felt entirely out of place and like he was failing his friends by being an inactive and indirect presence. Until he could overcome his own issues and find his own role in the world, he'd continue to feel out of place and like he was just drifting through life.

"Markus will need to recover at the mansion." North stated tersely as she gave Josh and Simon a firm look. "He's been through a lot and deserves some privacy while he heals. It'll also keep the gossip to a minimum."

"Agreed." Simon saw no issue with giving Markus some space. "We can take turns visiting him and making sure he's stable. I also suspect that Connor won't be too far away from him for a long time."

Josh sided with his friends and knew it'd be best to trust Markus to look after himself once he was back in the city. "Not to mention the other deviant victims who will need to be identified and properly tended to. Markus would rather us focus more on them and focus less on him."

North let out a small sigh as she addressed Lucas casually both verbally and through a cybernetic link. "What do you think, Lucas?"

'I think it'd be best to let Markus continue to call the shots regarding his care and the tower's priorities.' Lucas observed empathetically even from afar. 'It'll be important for him to maintain a sense of control and leadership in the tower even while wounded and absent.'

"Good idea. We'll wait for Markus to regain enough strength to talk with us directly before we do anything drastic."

"Right." Josh decided their meeting had concluded and wanted to prioritize helping other victims of the arena. "I'm going to set up additional community therapy sessions to ensure everyone who needs to talk has plenty of time to open up."

"And I'll get the emergency repair bay ready." Simon volunteered as he joined Josh to exit the office. "We have plenty of supplies to go around, so why be stingy now?"

North was relieved to know that Markus was still alive and wanted to help him in her own way. "Lucas, let me know as soon as Connor is back with Markus. I need to see Markus with my own eyes."

'I promise that I will let you know the moment Connor confirms their return.'

"Thank you."

'And thank you for including me in the meeting.' The aloof deviant tagged on before ceasing communication. 'It's nice to feel useful.'

"You are useful, don't sell yourself short. Right now, we need to get some rest and prepare for our next challenge."

'You're right. Good night, North.'

"Good night, Lucas. I'm glad you're on our side."

With everything seemingly on the verge of returning to normal, North was able to take in a deep breath and finally let her guard down. One trusted friend had rescued another, and her other trusted friends were all working together to support each other through their current crisis.

Even with the Revolution far behind them North knew that Markus's words were still ringing true: Everything will be all right.

Awkwardly Connor managed to get Markus out of the car, into the hotel, into the (thankfully) empty elevator and finally into their room to rest. Connor placed Markus down on the nearest bed and proceeded to remove the remaining destroyed clothing to fully expose all of Markus's wounds for sterilization and treatment. While the deviant detective gathered the necessary supplies from the bathroom to keep Markus from shutting down, Markus remained silent after losing consciousness during the drive out to the hotel. Too weak, too low on Thirium and too exhausted to awaken a second time, Markus remained entirely helpless as his friend tended to his wounds and looked after him while he was at his most vulnerable.

Connor used towels and washcloths from the bathroom to clean up Markus's multiple wounds and act as large bandages to stop the excessive bleeding inside the deviant's battered torso. While none of the vital biocomponents were at risk of permanent failure, Markus's ventilation biocomponents, Thirium pump, Thirium pump regulator, Thirium filter and thermal regulator were all heavily damaged.

"Shit, that's a lot of blood."

Connor watched the white fabric of the towels being quickly stained blue as he used them to mop up the internal bleeding inside Markus's abdomen. Seeing Markus's entire torso exposed was far more disturbing than seeing the lacerated artificial skin that once covered his now fractured plastimetal chassis.

"I'm going to need more towels and some ice."

Connecting his mind to Markus's mind Connor monitored the wounded deviant's functions and proceeded to make assessments and diagnostics to determine the best course of action to ensure that the 'RK-200' didn't shutdown. It'd be difficult to keep Markus stable without proper technical equipment at his disposal, but Connor wasn't the type to give up so easily.

"We may not be in Detroit right now, but I'm going to find a way to keep you safe and alive, Markus."

Using one of the remaining clean towels to hold a generous amount of the crackling ice from the minifridge together Connor placed a cool compress over Markus's abdomen to ensure his thermal regulator didn't stress itself out while it was so heavily damaged and in need of rest. It was important to keep Markus's system stable and cool while his self-healing program struggled to kick on.

"You're going to make it. If you don't, then I'll personally hunt down the people responsible for this and make them suffer twice as much as you already have."

Eager for back-up to arrive Hank parked the Oldsmobile across from the theater and located Captain Warren and Evelyn after the young officer put in her request, and he then gave the commanding officer his full report on how Connor located the illegal arena through a cybernetic link. A team of S.W.A.T. officers swarmed the interior of the building through the front and side doors while Hank kept an eye on activity outside. Just as Hank had finished explaining what had happened regarding the arena's discovery, there was a loud commotion from the back of the building in the shadows. Shouts, gunfire and a request for assistance drew the three officers' attention toward the source of the carnage.

The three officers all turned their attention to the alleyway as the commotion echoed through the streets. It seemed as if the officers combing the building had found someone worth arresting and keeping an eye on.

"What the hell just happened?" Hank asked as he, Captain Warren and Evelyn made their way to the back of the building. Seeing the S.W.A.T. officers backing away from a body now laying on the ground in a puddle of blue blood made Hank's stomach turn. An android had been killed. "What the fuck is going on back here?!"

"We had no choice but to open fire, sir." The nearest S.W.A.T. officer explained their decision while backing away from the downed body. "It was on a rampage and threatened to kill anyone it got it's hands on."

Hank looked down at the body and winced at its impressive build and numerous battlescars. "Shit..."

"We didn't know it was-"

"It's fine, I understand." Not a fan of the way the officer kept referring to the android as 'it', but even less fond of the idea of the powerful android killing cops who were there to rescue other deviants, Hank let it go and gave Captain Warren an exhausted stare. "Cap', we're going to need a lot more coffee and more cops down here if we're going to contain this mess before dawn."

"Understood, Lieutenant." Glancing at Evelyn, her face a mask of grief and empathy, Captain Warren decided that the young officer needed a small break from the chaos taking place in front of her. "Officer Blythe, go find Detective Connor at his hotel room and give him an update on the situation. Also get a report from him to bring back to the precinct once he's done interviewing one of the deviant victims who had been rescued from this place."

"Yes ma'am." Pulling the collar of her jacket up higher around her throat Evelyn tried to keep the cold rain from making her shiver. "I'm on it."

Hank wanted to interject and keep Evelyn from seeing Markus back at the hotel, but he couldn't override Captain Warren's orders or even tell her to wait a moment. Watching as Evelyn returned to the front of the building Hank discreetly pulled out his phone and sent Connor a text to let him know that Evelyn was on her way to the hotel.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant." Knowing what Hank was doing Captain Warren reassured the Lieutenant that Evelyn could be trusted. "Officer Blythe has good instincts and will be very open-minded. That's why I kept her assigned to this case despite her lack of experience."

"I figured as much." Slipping the phone back into his pocket and out of the rain Hank walked with Captain Warren back to the street in front of the raided theater to keep in control of the situation. "She seems like the type of officer to make one hell of a detective once she gets a little more experience under her belt."

"Does she come as nervous?"

"No, she just needs to grow a thicker skin so she doesn't throw-up after seeing a dead body."

"It took me about three years myself before I could stop doing that."

"Two and half for me." Standing before the building Hank smirked smugly at the security guards being escorted out of the building and watched the recognition flash through their eyes. "Let's just hope that we'll have people who are going to be willing to talk for the sake of sparing their reputation and will gladly point to the ringleader before the asshole has the chance to disappear."

It took Connor almost twenty minutes to clean up Markus's wounds and bandage the unconscious deviant in the protective android-unique gauze. Placing a protective swatch of gauze over Markus's blackened and swollen right eye Connor registered that Markus's core temperature was continuing to rise despite the ice packs being applied to his body. Knowing that Markus's self-healing program was going to focus primarily on repairing the deviant's Thirium pump and ventilation biocomponents before it'd remedy any damage to the thermal regulator had left Connor with the only option of applying more ice and donating Markus as much clean Thirium that he could spare from his own lines.

Finishing with the first pint of Thirium through the transfusion line Connor nearly jumped when he heard knocking on the hotel room door and knew that it was Evelyn thanks to Hank giving him a warning. Gently Connor removed the shared line between his and Markus's lines in their inner arm, Connor then walked toward the door and opened it to greet his temporary partner.

"Sorry if I interrupted your reunion with your friend." Evelyn replied sincerely as she saw the stress in Connor's soulful brown eyes. "But Captain Warren needs an update and your report as soon as possible."

"There was no interruption." Quelling her worries Connor kept the door partially shut but open as he made a move to return to the bed. "The interview-" A loud gasp and violent coughing stole Connor's attention and made his eyes go wide. "Shit!"

Evelyn watched as Connor rushed back into the room and she followed after him as her instincts to help people in need made her move first and ask questions later. Seeing Connor grab onto Markus's shoulders as he violently coughed and struggled to breathe made Evelyn flinch, but when she saw that Markus had coughed up some blue colored blood she froze just two steps inside the room.

"You're okay." Connor promised as he moved his hands to Markus's bandaged chest and retracted his artificial skin to monitor the 'RK-200's' breathing. "Your system is just attempting to recalibrate after receiving additional Thirium."

"Oh... Shit. This is way beyond my scope of abilities."

"It's okay, I can handle this." Keeping his eyes on Markus's face Connor carefully cleaned up the blue blood around Markus's lips and waited for him to stop coughing. "You need to breathe, Markus. Take a breath."

Snapping out of shock as Markus began to cough again Evelyn instinctively put her hand on Markus's shoulder to hold him steady. "What the hell is going on?"

Markus coughed again very weakly and began to wheeze as his breathing became worse. Lightly Connor put his palm down on Killian's chest to gauge the remaining strength of his ventilation biocomponents before leaning down to press his ear to Markus's chest to listen more directly to what was happening inside the deviant's battered chest. He could hear that Markus's left ventilation biocomponent - his left artificial lung - had collapsed from internal damage and needed to be repaired.

"Evelyn," lifting up his head Connor asked for his temporary partner's help. "I need you to get some ice. He's overheating."

"Okay." Grabbing the now empty ice bucket Evelyn took the spare keycard to the room and went in search of the ice machine. "I'll be back soon!"

Gently Connor kept his hand under Markus's head and lowered the injured deviant leader down to the pillow to tuck it under his neck to keep his airway open. Markus was too deep into stasis mode to react to the movement or being given Thirium through the transfusion line, and he didn't even feel or taste the small amount of crucial fresh blue blood dripping down his swollen lips and onto his chin.

"Please, Markus. You need to hold on."

Evelyn returned to the room with the requested ice needed to help Markus cool off. "What now?"

"I have to use the ice to keep him cool and I have to give him another transfusion of Thirium directly from my own arm." Connor reestablished the shared line and didn't hesitate to donate every drop that he could. "I don't have any additional Thirium and he needs more in order to heal properly."

"You're going to give him your own... blood?"

"Yes, it's the only way."

"But what if he just gets worse and then you're left weakened with no way to replenish the Thirium you donated?"

"I have to try. I don't have the proper stock to replenish his Thirium through ingestion." Connor explained everything coolly as he flexed his hand to coax his Thirium to flow down the line at a steady pace. "This is the only way to help him stabilize."

Evelyn sat down on the edge of the bed to Markus's left and stared at his face with utter shock and awe. "You're all so vulnerable, so... human. Alive."

"Yes, we are alive, but too many humans fail to realize it until it's too late."

"Not this human. I'll never be able to look at an android any other way than a living, breathing, feeling, thinking person."

"This is a slow process," Connor lamented as cybernetically monitored Markus's system and watched the low Thirium volume number tick up a little higher. "but at least it's working."

Still new to being so close to androids Evelyn just stared down at Markus's face as she timidly put hand over Markus's forehead in a comforting manner. She could feel that his artificial skin was as a soft and natural as any human skin, but it was nearly flawless and burning hot with what felt like a fever. Picking up one of the nearby washcloths Evelyn wrapped it around a few ice cubes and lightly smoothed it out over Markus's forehead to try to ease his discomfort and bring down his core temperature.

"You said androids are designed to respond to stimuli like humans, right?"

"That's correct."

"So you have a similar body temperature to humans, too, right?"

"Correct again." Connor confirmed as he watched Markus's bruised chest weakly rise and fall with his heated breaths. "It makes it easier for human technicians to determine the severity of a damaged or glitching android's condition."

"And you said that he's overheating. Do we treat this like a fever and help him cool down?"

"Yes, that's exactly right. That's why I requested the ice."

"What else can we do?" Placing a second ice pack over Markus's bandaged chest Evelyn held the ice down under her palm as she watched Connor steadily replenishing Markus's lost blue blood through the transfusion. "Captain Warren can wait a little while longer for her update."

"His self-healing program is going to initiate once his Thirium levels are higher than they are now. With his left ventilation biocomponent malfunctioning he's going to risk overheating, which means we need to keep him cool until the biocomponent heals."

Remembering everything that Connor had told her about android anatomy and physiology back at the precinct Evelyn tried to understand what was happening to Markus. "And that's the biocomponent that lets androids breathe and cool off their internal systems, right?"

"Correct."

"Okay. I can do that."

"What of the report and Captain Warren? We cannot expect her to wait all night."

Pulling her phone from her pocket Evelyn texted Captain Warren quickly and informed her that she'd be assisting Connor with the deviant witness and would deliver a full report in the morning. "Problem solved. I'll stay here with you to help you keep Markus stable."

"Thank you." Having support without needing to ask for it was still unusual but very welcome. "I know that Markus is be grateful."

"Is he so weak from being beaten down during those fights? Or is something else going on."

"His condition is a result of both the fighting and as a result of Markus injecting himself with a dose of morphine."

"Morphine?" Such a detail wasn't one that Evelyn was expected to hear. "Androids can use human painkillers?"

"No, unfortunately. Any such substance that enters our lines - our bloodstream - would result in out filters and self-healing program reacting negatively and causing emergency low power mode." As he spoke a theory formed in Connor's mind that fit all the evidence even without Markus's statement to back it up. "I believe Markus injected himself with the morphine to forcibly enter such a mode and feign shutdown."

"He faked his death knowing he'd be thrown out of the building to have his body hidden." To say she was impressed would be an understatement. "That takes a lot of courage and a true willingness to survive to pull off."

"And I can't leave him alone in this condition." Connor stated with an exhausted lilt as he watched Markus struggling to breathe under the layers of gauze and ice. The white wrappings helped lessen the cruelty of Markus's wounds by keeping them concealed, but Markus being unconscious and unresponsive was a grim reminder of the deviant's true condition. "Not until he regains consciousness."

"Then what'll happen after that?"

Frowning a little Connor looked down at Markus's face and thought about his very limited options. "Hank and I will take him back to Detroit as soon as he's stable enough to travel."

"That's it?"

"Huh?" Brow knit in confusion Connor returned his attention to Evelyn. "What do you mean?"

"He's really hurt and needs a lot of help. Even after you and Lieutenant Anderson take him back to Detroit he'll still need care."

"There are skilled technicians in Detroit that can help him." As he spoke Connor felt a headache coming on as his lowering Thirium volume caused his system to overreact to the Thirium transfusion. Closing his eyes Connor tried to quell the pain as much as possible. "I know of at least one who can save him."

"You sound so certain."

"I am. Certainty is all I have right now."

"Can I ask why you look like you're in pain?" Evelyn could see the way Connor was reacting and wanted to help. "Were you hurt tonight?"

"No." Pressing his fingertips to his forehead Connor sighed and cybernetically redirected his power to focus on his Thirium filter to ensure that the transfusion didn't cause any future problems for his own system. "I'm merely experiencing discomfort due to the ongoing transfusion."

Evelyn applied more ice to Markus's chest and forehead as the rain outside pounded against the glass of the room right behind Connor creating a surprisingly comforting ambience. The way the deviant detective was keeping vigil over Markus gave Evelyn a strange sense that she could actually see Connor's heart despite him remaining relatively reserved. "Since I'm not going anywhere for a little while can I ask you a few more questions?"

"What about?"

"Well... Everything!" Evelyn was almost fascinated by Connor and wanted to learn more about her temporary partner before he returned to Detroit. "How you met Lieutenant Anderson, what you did during the Revolution, what you do now, and what you're going to do when you get back to Detroit. I'm very curious."

Managing a faint and amused smirk where he sat Connor had no objections to the questions and continued to give Markus the crucially needed Thirium directly from his own line. "I have no issue with answering your questions, Evelyn. But only on the condition you answer some questions of my own about yourself."

"All right, that's fair." Making sure that Markus wasn't disturbed by her presence Evelyn gave Connor her full attention as the two detectives engaged in game of twenty questions to pass the time. "What do you want to know?"

-next chapter-