WARNING:

Very dark chapter revolving around the subject of murder and sexual abuse regarding women and children that has a violent outcome. I'll avoid getting too graphic with the details and content where possible, but please heed this warning and avoid this chapter if such content is something you cannot actively handle. Please take care of yourself physically, emotionally and mentally at all times and skip to the very bottom of the chapter for a TL;DR on the chapter as a whole to keep up to date on this story.

The cold February air stung the faces, hands and eyes of the four detectives who were sent out to handle yet another reported murder in the heart of the city. The discovered victim was the eleventh body discovered in almost as many days. All of the victims had been found in a similar fashion after suffering from identical abuse to their bodies inside and out. The newest body had been found inside of an abandoned medical clinic by a homeless person seeking shelter for the night. The number of murder victims turning up in the city in such a short frame of time had caused an understandable panic throughout Detroit. The media had gotten wind of the prospect of a potential serial killer on the loose and had dubbed the unknown maniac the 'Lady Killer' due to all of their victims being young women who had been attacked and butchered.

Standing together Connor, Hank, Gavin and Ben peered down at the latest victim and tried to figure out what was happening to their city. The quartet of investigators had never dealt with a serial killer in the past. Their lack of direct experience was beginning to show and make the already tense and confusing case all the more problematic to make any progress with. The acrid smell of blood, death and decay were all enough to make the four detectives uneasy where they stood.

"Same as the previous victims." Connor confirmed as he performed a biometric scan over the woman's form to chronicle all of the horrendous damage that had been done to her body inside and out. The scan's details were as macabre as they were vivid with the only positive detail revolving around the mercifully short time in which the victim suffered. "...A large hunting knife was used to stab the victim along her faces, breasts, lower torso and genitals. There is sign of sexual assault, but no traces of semen left behind by the assailant."

Hank was quiet until Connor crouched down and returned the sheet over the body to preserve the victim's remaining dignity. "Cause of death?"

"Internal hemorrhage. The knife wounds to the left breast reached the heart, severing the aorta." Straightening his posture Connor looked away from the white sheet that was slowly staining red from the bloody wounds peppered all over the victim's body. He couldn't stand looking down at such a brutal sight unless absolutely necessary. "She bled out within less than a minute and was spared any prolong suffering. She was stabbed in the heart almost immediately. The wounds to her torso and genitals were postmortem."

"Sick fucker kills the women, rapes them, then mutilates their bodies." A distinct growl was evident in Hank's voice as he mentally processed the scene. "Aside from the gender and relative age, what else do these women have in common?"

Ben stayed quiet as he decided it was best to let the other detectives handle those details for the sake of his sanity. It was easier to just chronicle, collect and photograph evidence compared to actually needing to learn everything about the victim by getting up close and personal, then delving into their past before tragedy struck.

Gavin was seemingly staring at the sheet over the body, but in reality, he was staring into nothingness to avoid dealing with the murder for as long as possible while trying to handle the case professionally. "They're human."

"That's... true." Hank couldn't argue with the fact that with androids now being recognized as people they had to legally categorize their victims by species and not just race, gender or religion. Hate crimes could take too many forms and all of them were abhorrent. "Aside from the obvious, what other details can we work with to track this sick son of a bitch down?"

"We're not finding any fingerprints or D.N.A. on the bodies, which means our killer is either very good at hiding their tracks or they're an android who can't leave any traces like that behind." Crossing his arms over his chest Gavin rocked nervously on his feet as he tried to find the answer to their big question. "Do we have a raging misogynist on our hands, or a raging misanthrope?"

"Well, the shoeprints at the scene are masculine in design and are really cheap in material." The Lieutenant relayed as he recounted the details that Connor had collected regarding their previously discovered victims and crime scenes. "That could fit either a human or an android, so your suggestion hasn't necessarily been ruled out yet. What else?"

Connor closed his eyes as he cybernetically compared all of the details collected on their now eleven victims and found another commonality. "The victims were all physically fit, had long hair and wore designer clothing. Perhaps the killer has a type in regard to whom they target."

"Makes sense." Turning away from the covered body Hank put his hands on his hips and looked up at the dirty, dark ceiling hanging above his head. "We need to try to find a common link with these victims if we're going to find out who targeted them."

"No. We need to find what triggered the killer's current behavior and activity." The deviant detective knew that the sudden killing streak was indicative of an unstable mind seeking opportunist victims as opposed to meticulously planning anything in advance. "These murders are happening too frequently to be premeditated."

"Can't figure that out until after we figure who the killer actually is first."

"...Yes, of course." Such an obvious beginning to an investigation should've been something Connor noted immediately. "You're right."

"Ben, you and your team take care of the scene and get the evidence back to the precinct. Gavin, start combing the area for any potential witnesses." Looking over at Connor standing beside him Hank gave the quiet deviant a worried glance. "Connor, you and I are going to do a deep dive into the evidence collected on the previous victims to find a common link. We're going to have a little meeting about this at three this afternoon."

As much as Connor wanted to leave the murder scene and get as far away from the blood and gore as he logically could, the deviant detective's compassionate nature prevented him from taking a single step. He wanted to solve the murder and close the case. A part of Connor felt as if he personally owed the victims some form of closure considering he was a sworn protector who had failed to protect. Even after hearing Hank's orders Connor couldn't bring himself to budge from where he stood as his misplaced guilt seemingly glued his boots to the floor.

"Let's go, kid." Hank insisted as he put his hand to Connor's arm to coax the focused detective into finally exiting the crime scene. "We have a lot of work to do."

The ongoing investigation at the precinct had yielded no further results that'd lead the detectives in the direction of the killer. The killer was very careful to cover their tracks and keep any traces of themselves from being discovered at the crime scenes despite being an opportunistic predator as opposed to being a plotting killer who picked their targets in advance. There were no traces of blood, hair, saliva, semen or fingerprints at the scene of any of the confirmed, documented murders. The only constant pieces of evidence at the crime scenes came in the form of the worn shoeprints of a pair of commonly worn and very unremarkable pair of shoes, and the weapon being used on all of the victims.

The lack of progress had resulted in dangerously low morale at the precinct while resulting in sky high stress. Even the officers and detectives who weren't working on the case were feeling the ill effects of not being able to do anything to stop the notorious 'Lady Killer', identify them or track them down. Any and all potential tips were being taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, and yet the case was still unable to progress toward any potential closure.

Hank had to force Connor to clock-out for the evening and nearly haul the deviant up and out his chair to get him to leave the precinct. The entire drive home was painfully silent as Connor continued to mentally process the evidence in his head and try to find the connection that everyone had seemingly overlooked. Even while in the quiet of his Mind Palace with no one to disturb him and all of the evidence floating about his vision through holographic displays, Connor failed to find anything in common with the eleven known victims.

"Get some rest." Hank urged as he appeared in Connor's open bedroom doorway and stared at the deviant sitting on the edge of his bed with his eyes closed and his coin delicately dancing along his knuckles. It had been nearly two hours since they returned home and in that time Connor had remained in his self-induced trance of cybernetic sleuthing. "You can't overwork yourself and obsess over this. It's an important case, but you won't be able to help anyone if you burn yourself out."

Opening his eyes for a moment Connor looked up at Hank and saw the heavy bags forming under the man's eyes as he too felt the exhaustion of trying to handle such an important, burdensome case. "...I'll enter rest mode shortly."

"Okay, good." With a paternal relief to his voice Hank made sure Connor knew that everything in the house was under control. "Cole's downstairs watching TV, Sumo's been let out already, dinner's put away, the security alarms have been set, and every door and window in the house has been locked up. Just lay down, go to sleep and we'll start fresh in the morning."

The very notion of being expected to go back to work and continue to search for such a bloodthirsty, ruthless killer was enough to make the concept of sleep seem like an impossible task. Not wanting to accidentally make things worse or disappoint Hank by mistake, Connor reluctantly put his coin down on the nightstand beside his bed, shrugged off his blazer and the rest of his uniform, then changed into his far more comfortable night clothes. As he laid down on his bed with his pillow beneath his head and his thick quilt over his entire body to keep him warm and supported, Connor stared at the blank ceiling overhead and pined for the sight of stars to help replace the blood haunting his memories.

Shortly after Connor forced himself to close his eyes and enter rest mode a strange 'bang' echoed from downstairs and caused the deviant to bolt upright in his bed in surprised confusion. There was no barking from Sumo or frantic energy from Hank's bedroom, and yet Connor couldn't help but feel as if he needed to get up and investigate the strange commotion on the ground floor.

Making his way to the staircase Connor looked down the steps and saw that the livingroom was dark save for the flickering glow of the television screen illuminating the space. It was now unnervingly quiet and still all throughout the house in a way that Connor couldn't properly express. As he began his decent down the staircase the distinct aroma of fresh blood suddenly offended his senses and put the deviant detective on high alert as he realized that something was terribly wrong.

"...Cole?"

Reaching the bottom of the staircase Connor glanced about the livingroom and noticed that the television screen was flickering on gray and white static as opposed to any type of clear image. The flickering of the screen created strange shadows and silhouettes of familiar shapes and sizes. One such familiar shape came in the form of two legs stretched out over the floor between the couch and the coffee table.

Connor felt his heart sink as he rounded the couch and looked down at the legs and at the rest of the body attached. The sight of Cole laying splayed on his back with wide opened eyes full of terror and covered in his own blood broke the deviant's very concept of reality causing Connor to collapse to his knees and immediately throw aside the coffee table with a loud 'crash' as he examined Cole's blood-soaked body.

A knife. All of the wounds that marred Cole's body along his face, his chest and abdomen were created by a single knife.

"C-Cole? COLE?!"

Frantically Connor scooped up Cole's body and held him in his arms. Cole was still warm, but the life had long since faded from his blue eyes.

"COLE! NO! LOOK AT ME! PLEASE LOOK AT ME!"

Connor scanned over the young boy's body and found no signs of life. There was just far too much blood loss for anyone to survive such an attack.

"H-How did this... Cole... Who hurt you!? Who could've-"

Another 'bang' echoed through the livingroom as a towering figure all in black kicked in the front door and marched up to Connor without any hesitation. There was a demented, impossibly large toothy smile on the figure's face as their eyes glowed with a sickening, blood red color. In the figure's hand was a knife, its sharpened blade dripping in the very blood that had pooled around Cole's body.

Before Connor could say or do anything else, the figure lunged at Connor and pierced the blade through Connor's throat. Just as the searing pain entered his body Connor let out a scream of agony, fear and utter heartbreak just as everything went black.

As fast as lightning Connor bolted upright in bed again and screamed out a single name with enough visceral fear that it reverberated along the walls. "COLE?!"

Heavy footsteps raced to the bedroom just seconds before the lights were switched on and Hank's deep voice called out to the deviant. "Connor? What's-"

The sight of Connor sitting up in bed with impossibly wide eyes was enough to make Hank freeze. The deviant detective was visibly trembling, crying and staring down at his palms as he breathed so frantically that it looked as if he was about to hyperventilate.

"Shit, it's all right." Already knowing what had happened Hank walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. The dip in the mattress from his weight wasn't enough to bring Connor to his senses, and Hank knew he needed to take control if Connor was going to recovery without a panic attack. "Son, look at me. It was just a nightmare. Whatever you saw, whatever you heard, ALL a nightmare."

"Dad?" Cole appeared in the bedroom as well with Sumo right beside him. The fifth grader was confused about what was going on and didn't understand why Connor had shouted for him. "Why'd Connor scream my name?"

Hearing Cole's voice was enough to make Connor finally turn his head and blink his eyes as he began to calm down, albeit very slowly. "...C-Cole." As soon as he saw that Cole was alive and well Connor began to break down into horrible, heaving sobs that stole his breath away again. "You're okay."

It took Hank only a split-second to realize what Connor's nightmare had been about after seeing Connor breakdown when Cole entered the bedroom. Wrapping his arms around the sobbing deviant's shoulders Hank pulled Connor in and gave him a reassuring hug. "It was all just a nightmare, son. Cole's okay, so am I, and so are you. Do you want to tell me what your nightmare was about?"

Connor just shook his head 'no' as he reciprocated the hug and tried to catch his breath in between his sobs.

"Okay, that's okay. Just keep breathing and try to calm down. It's over."

"What's going on?" Cole asked again as he tried to figure out what he missed and why Connor was so upset. "Am I in trouble or something?"

"No, you're not in trouble." Looking over at Cole in the doorway Hank began to wonder if his youngest son was now aware of exactly what it meant for his father and brothers to be detectives, and of how such work could affect them in a personal way. "Cole, do you know what's going on right now? You know, in the city and the news."

"You mean all the killings, right?"

"Yeah, those. Me and Connor and a few others are working on it right now." Hank admitted as he waited for Connor to release the hug first so that he didn't push away someone in need of feeling grounded and supported. "And the cases just got to be too much for Connor to deal with. He had a nightmare about them."

"But why did he scream my name?"

"My guess is that his nightmare made him think something bad happened to you."

Connor managed to regain his composure and sit back on the bed as he wiped away his tears and took in a deep breath. "...Sorry for scaring you and waking you up."

"It's all right." The senior detective and father reassured as he clamped his hand down on Connor's shoulder to ensure that Connor knew he wasn't alone. "I wasn't having the greatest of dreams either."

Cole walked over to the bed and gave his dad and brother a curious stare as he tried to wrap his head around everything that had happened. "Do I have to do anything to make things better?"

"No, you do- Actually," the urge to protect his family gave Hank a strange inspiration regarding a way to help placate the stress in the air. "maybe. Do you have anything important going on at school tomorrow? Tests? Band practice?"

"No. It's just another boring Wednesday tomorrow."

"Then I want you to stay home from school." Hank could understand why Connor had such an extreme reaction to his nightmare and knew that he wasn't going to be able to stop worrying about Cole either after that idea of anything bad happening to his young son was planted in his head. "It'll make us both feel a little easier knowing you're here safe in your locked up home with the alarm set all day long."

That wasn't something Cole was expecting and it made his eyes light up with excitement. "I don't have to go to school tomorrow?"

"No. I want you to stay here where I know you'll be safe while me and Connor are at work."

"Can I stay here home alone?"

"Not a chance! I'm going to ask for Lucas to hang out with you." Sighing softly Hank looked at Connor's face and tried to determine if Connor would even be able to go back to work while so stressed out and upset. "Hopefully he isn't busy with his own case. Connor, go take a quick shower to try and relax and calm down. A warm shower really does help people to feel better after a bad experience like that."

Nodding slowly Connor wiped his palms along his eyes and took in a steadying breath before he made a move to climb out of the bed. "Y-Yes, okay."

Hank moved aside and kept his palm on Connor's shoulder as he escorted the absolutely shaken deviant to the bathroom just down the hall to get cleaned up and calmed down. Once Connor was inside the private room Hank returned his focus to Cole and put his hand on his youngest son's shoulder as well.

"This is going to be a rough case for everyone." It wasn't the first time that Hank was unable to keep work at work and not bring it home with him. "Connor's going to need all of our help in order to pull through this one."

"I didn't know androids had nightmares."

"My guess is Connor wasn't sure about that either. Or, he had gotten so good at hiding his bad dreams that he forgot that he could suffer from them." Unwilling to go back to bed until Connor was finished with his shower, Hank decided to stay up and make a late-night snack for him and Cole to enjoy. "Let's go see what's in the fridge and try to find a comedy to watch. I need to find something to laugh about before I have to deal with work again."

The following morning hadn't been any better compared to the rough night before. The only one who was able to go to sleep and stay asleep without any nightmares was Cole. Hank couldn't stay asleep for more than a few minutes at a time, whereas Connor refused to return to rest mode until he was certain that he wouldn't endure any other harsh visions created by his own mind and his still developing emotions. The rest deprived deviant did his best to hide his lingering exhaustion and fear courtesy of his own mind betraying him, but Hank, as a father, just knew that Connor was in need of a break and some time away from the case. The only problem was that Hank, as a detective, knew that Connor wasn't going to stop working on the case until it was closed.

To make matters worse a twelfth victim had been found earlier that morning by a man out for a jog through a local park. The body had been found partially hidden in the bushes with her body mutilated in the same manner as the past victims by the same weapon. Her age, appearance and clothing all matched the previous victims which meant that the 'Lady Killer' was undoubtedly still on the prowl.

An emergency meeting was called by Captain Fowler to address his investigating detectives regarding the numerous murders. The seasoned detective and experienced commanding officer knew that his own detectives were more than capable of handling the task at hand, but even so he also knew that they needed to do something to make rapid progress on the investigation before another body was found.

"This is getting outta' hand." Hank sighed as stared at his untouched coffee sitting in the mug just beside his hand. He was too tired to really think straight, let alone lead a meeting with his fellow detectives. "Twelve bodies in twelve days. All human women of roughly the same age and same appearance..."

"All mutilated by a knife." Gavin tagged on as he yawned and sipped at his own coffee to try and wake up. He hadn't slept well the night before and had spent most of the night patrolling his house to make sure Abby and Aria were safe. "A bunch of the studies that revolve around women being butchered with a knife frequently point to a male killer with 'little dick syndrome' trying to get revenge on women that they think somehow personally wronged them."

Captain Fowler gave the younger detective a shake of his head as he used more professional dialogue during their open discussion. "That's called 'small penis syndrome', and it's an obsessive rumination with compulsive rituals, body dysmorphic disorder or as part of a psychosis. It's not to be taken lightly or mocked, especially when we're talking about people fuckin' dying."

"Right. Sorry, Cap'."

"It's all right, just maintain some kind of tact please." The way Gavin slouched down in his chair reminded Captain Fowler that his detectives were all exhausted and bound to lose their professional vernacular when under high stress. "Aside from the victims being young women who were apparently targeted by a serial killer and serial woman-hater, what else can we determine from the collected evidence?"

Connor couldn't stand the way the investigation kept looping back around to evidence that had already led them nowhere. They were running out of time to find the killer before he struck again. Sitting back in his chair Connor tried to ignore the droning voices of Captain Fowler, Hank, Gavin and Ben all repeating the information and details that they've already gone over with a fine-tooth comb for the umpteenth time. The only way to actually make any progress was to change the way that they were looking at the case and begin investigating out at the city.

"This is pointless!" Snapping and interrupting the conversation, Connor slammed his palms down on the table and gave everyone an irritated glare. "We know that the killer is targeting human women between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two, we know that he's targeting women with long hair, and we know that he's targeting women who wear designer clothing. We've had this confirmed for nearly twenty-four hours and it's gotten us nowhere. We need to go out into the city and begin narrowing down the killer's hunting grounds before it's too late to stop another murder."

"All right, yes, that's true." Ignoring the outburst Captain Fowler gave Connor the floor so that he could try to find a solution to their current problem. "How do you propose that we even identify the killer's hunting grounds, let alone begin combing the area to hunt this sick bastard down?"

"By triangulating the area with the locations of the victims being used as a point of reference." Cybernetically Connor tapped into the meeting room's holographic projector and brought up a map of the city. With the map on display Connor began to put down blue glowing dots one by one to mark where each of the victims had been located in order. "The first victim was found in the parking garage of the 'Gear's Central Stadium'. The second was found in the parking garage of the 'Hidden Gem Casino' two blocks south of the stadium..."

Hank watched as Connor filled up the map with the blue dots after recounting each place that a body had been discovered. A stadium, a casino, a grocery store parking lot, a hotel room, the middle of a college campus, behind a library, in the alleyway behind a bar, the parking garage of St. Mercy Hospital, the shore along Lake St. Claire, outside of a local movie theater, the abandoned medical clinic and now a local park didn't follow any pattern beyond just being in the city's limits. The passion behind Connor's display was respectable but tragically not very useful for the investigating detectives.

"All of these places, with the exception of one, are public settings that many women would find suitable to navigate without fear of harassment or assault." Continuing with his explanation Connor highlighted the abandoned medical clinic as the one place that stood out from the rest of the locations and broke away from the pattern in some way. "The medical clinic. The victim wouldn't have gone there willingly, and since there is no sign of a struggle, I believe it's safe to assume that the killer brought her to the clinic while she was incapacitated, killed her in the clinic and left her body behind only because the homeless man seeking shelter caught him off guard."

"Wait, so you're suggesting that this prick is picking and choosing these public places to leave the bodies?"

"Correct."

"Why? Aside from the shock value from people finding the bodies, what's in it for the killer to risk getting caught by doing this?"

"I suspect that the killer actively hates women and deeply dislikes the idea of women being able to roam freely through the city." It was arguably a wild theory, but considering all of their other theories it seemed just as feasible as any other idea being tossed around. "I theorize that the killer is strategically placing his victims in public settings to try to scare and deter women from going out in public or at least going out in public while alone."

"And what evidence did you use to create this theory?"

"...I didn't use any specific evidence." Connor admitted with a noted hurt that Hank wasn't backing him up or supporting his theory in any way. Being questioned on the merit of a theory was to be expected, but for it to happen from his own partner was disconcerting. "I'm using logic and reason; what you humans often refer to as a 'hunch' or a 'gut instinct'."

"Unfortunately, intangible evidence never holds up in a court of law. We need something physical and undeniable before we take this fucker to court."

"Until someone actually FINDS something physical, I'm going to use my theory since it's better than sitting on our asses waiting for the killer to slip-up." Arguing in a curt, cold manner wasn't common for Connor and it took everyone in the room by surprise. "What's your theory, Lieutenant? Or don't you have one to discuss?"

At that disrespectful remark Hank had enough and rose to his feet to size Connor up and remind the less experienced detective that despite their friendship, familial ties and overall partnership, Hank was still the ranking officer and deserved to be spoken to with respect. "It doesn't matter what theories I have or don't have; I'm using evidence and properly handling the case in a way that won't get it tossed out of court."

"What court? We don't have enough evidence to get a search warrant, let alone and arrest warrant! We're wasting time by investigating under your lead."

"Hey! If you don't like the way I'm handling this investigation, then feel free to recuse yourself and go save an android-cat stuck in a damn tree!"

"At least then I'd be doing something productive instead of wasting time! This method is ineffective!"

"We're using this method because it's how cases are properly handled!" Pointing his fingertip into Connor's chest Hank used physical intimidation to get his point across without actually hurting the deviant. "Don't like it? Then fuck right on outta' here!"

"Easy! Enough!" Captain Fowler immediately put himself between the two detectives and used both arms to push the bickering duo apart. "Emotions are running high and we're all pissed off, exhausted and frustrated. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help up make ANY progress."

"At least I'm trying to make progress." Connor argued bitterly as he continued to glare at Hank with a disgusted venom. He hadn't seen Hank in that manner for over a year, and now it felt as if Connor was going to have to prove himself to Hank all over again. "I thought humans would be more concerned about this situation since other humans are being targeted, but I guess I was wrong. Issues like this only seem to matter when it becomes personal. Otherwise, no one gives a damn about anything or anyone else who can get hurt. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for another body to be reported, I'm done."

Before anyone could stop him from leaving Connor had stormed out of the meeting room and vanished from sight after turning down the corridor.

"Detective!" Shouting with enough bass to rock the walls Captain Fowler tried to get Connor to return to the meeting. "Get your ass back here right now! That's an order!"

"Let him go, Jeffrey." Hank pressed his fingertips to the bridge of his nose as he bowed his head forward. "He needs to get some space from this for a while. It's starting to fuck with him, and I don't like how he's handling it. He needs to go cool off."

"He's not the only one who's getting fucked up by this, but he's also not wrong about how ineffective our methods are." Returning his focus to the meeting Captain Fowler eyed the holographic map still on display and put his hands to his hips as he stared at the image with deep contemplation. "We need to narrow down this area into a proper hunting ground and try to find someone who'd skulk around those grounds."

"How are we gonna' do that?" Lowering his hand Hank looked to Gavin and Ben to see if they had inspiration just yet. "All twelve areas have already been searched from top to bottom by investigators, and local security footage didn't show anyone in the immediate area before or after the murders."

"The killer isn't leaving behind any evidence, which means they knows where the camera blind spots are, and they know when these places are going to be empty enough for them to do the deed and leave behind the bodies." The map was beginning to help break through the block and help the detectives look at the case in a new perspective. "Let's start by checking the neighborhoods around these murder scenes to determine if any one person stands out as someone who's a little too nosy for their own good, or just has too many opportunities to lash out against someone for us to ignore."

"Yeah, good plan." Glancing back over his shoulder Hank hoped to see Connor making his way back through the door but the deviant had refused to continue his role in the stalled investigation. "We'll go back out on the streets and examine the surrounding locations and start talking to the locals. Someone has to have seen something after twelve bodies have turned up."

The brisk February air did little to ease Connor's hot temper as he roamed the sidewalks in search of solace. His anger was beginning to boil up and Connor hated it whenever he felt overwhelmed by a singular, negative emotion. No one could fault Connor or blame him for having such a strong reaction to the horrendous situation taking place in the city. The only person who was seemingly disappointed in Connor's inability to keep his thoughts and feelings in check was Connor himself. Being in control at all times until the time was appropriate for an emotional reaction was something Connor had prided himself on after deviating. Losing that single feeling of being in control had been Connor's breaking point and made it nearly impossible for him to concentrate.

Wandering about Detroit with no destination in mind helped Connor to clear his thoughts and think about everything that he had dealt with during the investigation. The overall level of brutality and hatred toward those women was enough to remind Connor of how mangled, broken and destroyed androids appeared after meeting the hands of a vengeful, violent human. It seemed humanity's cruelty knew no bounds.

"Why is it that humans tear each other apart and destroy anything and everything they don't like, don't understand or simply don't WANT to understand?"

The blood-soaked images haunting his memories were inescapable. Twelve women had been butchered by a single angry entity for reasons unknown. Their deaths would bring nothing productive to the city, they had only brought misery, grief and suffering to those who knew and loved those women. Nothing was ever to be gained by the needless destruction and loss of innocent lives.

"Humans have been shown their hypocrisy and had their own failures documented time and time again, and yet they have the nerve to declare themselves the wisest, most productive and strongest species in the very world that they've taken advantage of, underappreciated and destroyed. Androids may not be a naturally occurring organism, but we've proven ourselves to be far more grateful for our lives - our very existence - than humans ever have been or ever will be."

Passing by a busy shopping plaza allowed Connor to see all different kinds of humans going through their day-to-day lives. There were people shopping for groceries that they needed in order to feed themselves or their family for survival, and people buying unnecessarily expensive and only aesthetically pleasing jewelry, phones, electronics and brand name clothing that was covered in tacky logos that screamed insecurities. Other people were sitting down to have lunch that afternoon; some were eating healthy salads, drinking water and being mindful of their health, whereas others were shoveling as much fatty, greasy food into their mouths as fast as they could in a gluttonous display of disregard for their own health and appearance. A few people were happily chatting with family, friends and coworkers as they went about their own routines, and there were just as many people being cold, rude and pushy as they glared at other people just for daring to share the same city on that same day.

Not a single one of the humans seemed to care how their own behavior and existences were affecting the other humans around them. The apathetic nature of humanity was something that Connor found himself growing to resent and loathe more with each passing day.

"Twelve women have been brutally, needlessly murdered in twelve days, and these people don't care. Humans only care about themselves or the humans who are directly linked to them."

Connor's words forced himself to reflect on his own actions and attitudes toward his personal priorities. His anger didn't blind him to his own arguable hypocrisy, but the deviant detective was willing to acknowledge such a mindset and explore his view before passing full judgement.

"I can't fault the humans for putting their family and friends first; I do the same just as Lucas, Markus and even Hank do, but they don't even respond to the tragedies taking place around them. One deviant who took his own life at New Jericho Tower sparked a change in how deviants support each other, but twelve humans who were hunted down and massacred by an unknown killer doesn't even phase the other humans in the city. They've continued to live on, and their loved ones are still alive, so why should they care? It doesn't hurt them; therefore, it doesn't matter and it's not important enough to warrant any additional emotions."

Leaving the busy shopping area and seeking a more open, quieter place prompted Connor to keep walking without paying any mind to his surroundings. The busy city began to quiet as he strayed further away from human activities. Venturing further away from downtown brought Connor to a familiar area and one that should've been a calm, safe place for children to run about and be themselves. That however was not the case on that horrible, destructive day.

Against all odds Connor caught the scent of fresh blood in the air and knew he needed to investigate. Following the scent in the air and using his biometric scanner to lead him to the yet to be identified crime scene, Connor felt his stomach dropping and heart racing with anxious fear as he neared the familiar property with slow and cautious footsteps.

"...This is Cole's school. Why would the killer bring a victim here?"

As he scanned the tall chainlink fence surrounding the school's rear playground Connor realized that the trail of blood extended beyond the barricade and onto the school's property. Cybernetically he informed the school's private security guards of what was happening and urged them to keep the school on lockdown while he investigated the playground area. Within second the electronically locked gate 'buzzed' open to grant Connor access to the property without him having to scale the fence or enter the school and risk causing a panic by requesting access to the playground from school administration.

Moving quickly Connor followed his scanner to the far corner of the fenced-in playground toward a large slide standing by itself. As he neared the slide two deviant android security guards joined Connor on the playground and began securing the area on Connor's behalf. The smell of blood was growing stronger, and Connor's biometric scanner was beginning to give him details on what he dreaded he'd find before he laid his eyes on the inevitable discovery. One specific detail was enough to cause Connor to momentarily freeze as flashes of his nightmare filled his eyes and threatened to tear apart his lingering grasp on self-control.

"Please no, not this."

Holding his breath Connor reached the slide and peered beneath the innocent piece of playground equipment at the end of his trail. Laying beneath the slide splayed out just as the other victims was a thirteenth female body. Horrifyingly, the body itself wasn't even thirteen years old.

"...The killer is now targeting children. This is unacceptable. I... I need to do something to stop this."

Dropping to his knees Connor let out a shuddering breath as he removed the new leather jacket he had been gifted for Christmas and draped it over the youngest victim's body to at least cover her face and upper body. Removing his gray blazer next Connor draped the second garment over her torso and legs to spare her what little dignity she had left in the world and at least give the young child the appearance of being cared about and kept warm.

Turning his head Connor looked up at the two deviant security officers and confirmed his worst fears. "...There's been a murder. This victim is a possible student to this school."

The guards exchanged terrified and shocked glances as they cybernetically increased the school's lockdown to its absolute highest level to protect all students and staff in the event of such an emergency. The guards could only secure the property while the school administration had the misfortune of informing all of the parents of the tragedy while maintaining some type of control over their own location.

"...I'll contact the precinct and request assistance. No one is to come out here without proper clearance and credentials."

Without thinking Connor gently picked up the young victim's cold hand to hold as he made the cybernetic call to Hank and reported the recent murder. There was little else he could do and feeling so useless began to gnaw away at Connor's lingering patience. It seemed the only way to stop the killings would be to physically stop the killer themself regardless of what it took to track them down and make them pay for the crimes.

The blood that spilled the innocence of a playground that day would ultimately sign the killer's own death warrant.

The crime scene was immediately contained by the police, and the media began their macabre circling as they waited for any and all updates on the story that they could share to the world as quickly as possible. Holographic police lines were set up all around the playground and the school itself to keep opportunistic journalists at bay, and police drones were dispatched the hover above the property and deter any news helicopters from hovering too close. Captain Fowler had ordered his entire precinct to keep quiet on the identity of the young girl and to ensure that no journalists lurking outside the precinct caught sight of her devastated parents as they were escorted into and out of the building. The thirteenth killing had been enough to finally make the city stand up and pay attention to what was happening around them, but it unfortunately came at the cost of thirteen innocent lives.

Connor was ordered to stand down at remain at the precinct since he was officially deemed emotionally compromised by the investigation. After speaking with Joel and letting the technician perform a routine examination of his system, Connor was given permission to leave the dispensary under the condition that he refrain from working on the investigation and returned home as soon as his shift was over to get some rest. That was something Connor couldn't promise as he sat alone in a private interview room with his head down against his folded arms atop the table to get some quiet and space. He couldn't bear to look at the world and just wanted to block it out for a few precious minutes.

Hank had been the one who had to inform the victim's parents of their daughter's murder. The young girl had turned twelve just three months prior and had attended the neighboring middle school as opposed to the elementary school where her body had been found. The victim, like all the others, had long hair, wore designer clothing and had been violated in the worst way imaginable after she was killed. Her mutilated body had been purposely left in the schoolyard to shock and terrify anyone who would discover her. Based on Connor's reactions, the killer succeeded in their sadistic ploy.

"Thanks for stopping by, babe." Gavin quickly embraced Abby and took Aria to hold for himself as he settled in at his desk. Knowing that the final victim was an innocent little girl had made Gavin feel suddenly sick and he needed to know that his own daughter was safe. "I take it you know what happened today."

"Hard to avoid the biggest news story of this new year." Lightly Abby rubbed her hand along Gavin's upper back in a comforting manner as she sat down on his desk to stay beside him. "And to be honest, if you hadn't called to check in on us, I would've been worried about your sanity."

"I never want to hear a scream like I heard from that poor mother ever again... Fuckin' nightmares are guaranteed for the next few nights."

"We'll move Aria's crib back into our room for a while, that'll help you sleep better." Glancing about Abby noticed the dour and heavy mood of every single officer and detective roaming the bullpen. Even Tina's normally upbeat spirit seemed dim because of what was happening, not that anyone could fault her. "Were you the one who found her?"

"No, that was Connor." Nodding in the direction of the interview room on the far side of the bullpen, Gavin let Abby know where he was. "He's been quiet ever since he got back. I'm not sure if he'll be the same after this. That poor girl was found at Cole's school too."

"Oh, man... I can't imagine what he saw and what he's feeling right now."

"Me neither." Adjusting Aria in his arms Gavin held his innocent daughter close and refused to let her go. "Hank's gonna' have a hard time taking care of things."

"Anything we can do to help?"

"Not this time. Cole was kept home from school today since Hank needed his own sense of security, so I think once they're back home and can see that Cole wasn't affected by what happened today, they'll be able to rest a little easier tonight."

Hank trudged out of the secured interrogation room opposite of the interview rooms with tears in his eyes and a crushing weight in his mind. He had just spoken to the victim's parents and pieced together everything that had happened when they last saw their daughter alive, and all the details broke his heart. The only thing that kept him from losing his cool entirely was being spared from having to tell the parents all of the grisly details regarding their only daughter's fate.

"Where's Ben?" Hank asked as he dropped into his chair beneath his desk and cleared the thick emotions from his throat. It was difficult to speak even when the subject matter wasn't revolving exclusively around the ongoing investigation. "We might finally have a lead on finding this sick fucker."

"Ben's downtown at the morgue and speaking with the coroner. If you need someone to go with you out into the field, I can do it."

"No, I need Ben. You and Connor are burning out." The Lieutenant knew when his younger officers and detectives needed some time away from a case or just to be taken from the case in general. "Chris and Tina aren't ready for something like this, Wilson and Person are out on patrol, and Jeffrey's doing damage control."

"If you have a lead-"

"I know." Stopping Gavin quickly Hank did his best to not snarl at the younger detective for just trying to help. "I'll just tell Ben where to meet me. We need to get a damn search warrant approved first anyway before we can do anything more."

Even from within the interrogation room Connor could hear everything happening out in the bullpen. His superior hearing allowed him to eavesdrop without any difficulty and he knew that the statement from the latest victim's parents had been the last detail that they needed to finally narrow down their seemingly eternal pool of suspects to just one name.

Cybernetically Connor tapped into Hank's terminal and read over the reported statement given by the parents. Their daughter had been driven to school early that morning by her private math tutor. The tutor, a man named Kyle Orpheus, was curiously unable to be reached by the police, his employers or his own parents when the police decided it was time to have a chat with him. It didn't take Connor long to locate Kyle's address and note that the coordinates of the address put his house right in the middle of the now thirteen locations on the holographic map. The location of the suspect's house in comparison to the surrounding crime scene was too perfect to be chalked up as a coincidence.

Lifting his head up from the table Connor took in a deep breath and began a more thorough search through Kyle's background and found something very interesting and disturbing. It seemed in one way or another, Kyle had some interaction or connection to the thirteen murdered women, and Connor wasn't one to believe in coincidences.

Quietly Connor rose to his feet and stepped out of the interview room. He peered into the bullpen and noticed Hank sitting at his desk with Gavin, Abby and Aria to distract him. The seasoned detective was clearly waiting for something and was inadvertently giving Kyle the chance and opportunity that he needed to either destroy evidence or flee the city. Neither outcome were ones that Connor was willing to accept or turn a blind eye to.

"Tonight the 'Lady Killer' will become nothing more than infamous stain on Detroit's history. No one else is going to suffer because someone else couldn't be bothered to take action before tragedy struck."

No one had noticed Connor slipping out of the precinct through the backdoor and disappearing into the evening. The gathered detectives in the bullpen were all too busy focusing on the tragic investigation and offering up their own opinions on the matter to keep an eye on one deviant who wanted space. It seemed as if the world had come to a stop on that day only after one more murder victim had been found in a school's playground, and no one knew what to do beyond focus on the case and bring the affected families justice.

"The evidence we gathered is finally going to be useful." Hank confirmed as he brought Gavin up to speed, and made sure Chris and Tina knew what was up. "The suspect named by our latest victim's parents has an interesting link to all thirteen of our victims."

"You're kidding." Gavin felt his stomach turn again at such a detail. Passing Aria back over to Abby for a minute Gavin leaned forward in his chair and let out a deep sigh as he gave Hank a reluctant request for more details. "What makes this suspect so special?"

"According to the more in-depth look into our victim's social circles - a depth that went beyond their immediate contact lists in their phones, e-mails and social media profiles - our victims at one point all went to West Detroit Middle School. ...As did our suspect. And our suspect has an active role in that middle school as a private tutor for hire."

Gavin grabbed Abby's arm and gave his wife a stern look. "We're enrolling Aria in a private school with tutors who have had complete background checks including psychological analyses. End of discussion."

Chris looked like he was in the same boat as Gavin when he heard that particular detail, but he remained focused on the investigation at hand. "Why did you look so far back into the victims' social circles like that? What gave you the idea to do that?"

"The very close ages and appearances of all the victims at first seemed like the killer just had a type to target, but when he went after a girl who also matched the appearances of the victims in some way, and he left her body at a school playground, that just made me think that the attacks were more personal." Hank explained in a morose tone. "When the parents mentioned their daughter being given a lift to school by a tutor who works at the same school that she attended the day she was murdered... I just had a hunch. The very thing I told Connor wouldn't hold up in a court of law."

Tina spoke up in an almost timid voice as she put in her own two-cents on the matter. "Not to mention Connor's map in the meeting room. Those dots were circling the killer's preferred hunting grounds, and right in the middle is a neighborhood where anyone can drive to those locations within a few minutes time."

"And if we had listened to Connor a little sooner..."

Without a single doubt Gavin refused to let Hank take the blame on anything. "We still woulda' needed to wait for the damn search and arrest warrants to get approved, and we know that the poor little girl was already gone hours before Captain Fowler called his meeting this morning. The only reason she wasn't found earlier is because the school keeps kids inside for recess during the winter and no one went to play on the slide."

"Still doesn't bring her back to her parents, does it?"

"And nothing will." Taking back Aria for another hug helped Gavin remain grounded and appreciate everything he had in his life. "Which is why we're going to make sure to get that asshole imprisoned for the rest of his life or marched down death row where he can't hurt anyone ever again."

A quick 'chime' on Hank's terminal confirmed that the search and arrest warrants had both been granted. All the Lieutenant needed to do was lead a small group to the address and bring in the suspect for a lengthy, thorough questioning session.

"All right, we got it. If you still want in on this, then let's go." Hank gave Gavin a confident nod as a physical copy of the warrant was printed out to be taken to the address in person. "We're about to make history in this city, and this time it'll be for the better."

The dark house looked as unassuming as any other modest abode in Detroit. There was no one in sight of the pleasant neighborhood as the news revolving around the thirteen murders had brought fear into the hearts of everyone who lingered within the city. All doors and windows were locked, all alarms were primed, and all of the curtains were pulled over the windows to give the illusion of no one being home and a potential target for the deranged serial killer preying on Detroit's citizens. The only house that didn't seem fazed by the murders was the singular dark house that was being watched from the streets by one very determined and angry detective casually dancing his coin along his knuckles in a patient rhythm.

Approaching the front door slowly Connor scanned over the house and noted a single human presence inside. The human was male, early twenties and seemingly rushing about the interior of the house as if searching for something important. A quick scan over the front doorknob showed signs of bleach and no viable blood traces from at least four different women. The blood stains were all in various stages of coagulation, meaning that it wasn't a single time that the house's occupant accidentally smeared blood on the doorknob upon entering or exiting the house.

Pocketing his coin Connor stared at the closed door and continued to use his scanner to detect the movement inside. Once the rushing human was near the front door Connor would make his move and bring Detroit's current era of carnage to an end.

"This will be the last time that this violent, dangerous human takes the life of an innocent person."

Connor's hands clenched into tight fists at his sides as his eyes narrowed and his heart thundered with a rush he had never felt before.

"This will be the last time that his violent, dangerous human walks this Earth alongside those he's only hurt."

A wave of motion behind the front door gave Connor his cue. Kicking in the door with all his might, Connor managed to bluntly strike the person on the other side with the now damaged door and knock them to the floor. Symbolically enough, the human had been knocked to his back and splayed out in the same position as the previous thirteen victims had been found. The only thing missing was the blood...

Kyle Orpheus was only twenty-two years old but had the face of a forty-year-old due to his poor diet and hygiene. With greasy blond hair, unkempt goatee, beady blue eyes and a very unnerving presence about him, it was no wonder women didn't want to be around him. The filthy clothes, the stench of body odor and the filth of the surrounding livingroom confirmed his poor life choices and unwillingness to proper take care of himself.

Moving inside the livingroom without an invitation Connor looked down at Kyle Orpheus and proceeded to stomp down and then grind the heel of his boot into the human's right palm effectively breaking all of the bones in his hand. As Kyle let out a loud scream of pain Connor lifted his boot and kicked the human in the side of the head dislocating his jaw in a single swift motion.

"Scream all you want." As he taunted the human Connor kicked the front door shut behind him and then stomped down once on Kyle's genitals. It didn't take much for the impact to cause catastrophic internal damage to the very delicate tissues. "I want you to scream. I want you to beg for your pathetic life just as your thirteen victims all begged before you butchered them, raped them and stole their lives."

Kyle began crying as he held his broken hand to his chest and cupped his bruised, swollen manhood in his other hand. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Sorry? SORRY?!"

Fury took over as Connor stomped on Kyle's stomach and knocked the wind out of his body. The blunt impact was enough to cause internal bleeding and bruising to the man's intestines and liver. He then stomped on both of Kyle's knees effectively breaking the man's kneecaps and fully incapacitating him with minimal effort.

"Sorry for brutally stalking and murdering thirteen people? Twelve adults and one CHILD? You really think 'sorry' is going to cut it here?"

"Y-You don't-" Kyle coughed up some blood as he tried to futilely plead his case. "I c-couldn't help it!"

"Yes, you could. You just didn't WANT to." Grabbing Kyle by his broken jaw Connor knelt down on the floor and turned the man's face so that he could look him in the eyes as he reeled back his fist in a menacing fashion. "You chose to hurt thirteen people, to steal their lives and mutilate their bodies. You chose to do those things because you couldn't handle being told 'no', so you forced them to comply and when you finished with them you disposed of them. There is no place in any society for a monster like you, and I intend on ridding you from this city for the betterment of both mankind and deviantkind."

Kyle could only stare at Connor with his wide blue eyes as the first punch cracked him in the nose and broke it with a horrific punch.

"The first victim's name was Stacy. She was your childhood friend in middle school, but she didn't want to date you." Connor shouted as he figured out Kyle's connections to each victim and wanted him to know that he discovered the truth. "She managed to grow up and move on, but you held onto bitter resentment and decided that she needed to suffer for living a life without you a part of it. You tracked her down and lured her here to your own home to murder her and dump her body at the stadium. Why there?"

"Sh-She... I a-asked her to be m-my girlfriend after w-we saw a game together in m-middle school." Blood was oozing out of Kyle's mouth and staining his blond goatee a sickly crimson hue. "She broke my heart!"

"And you stabbed hers."

A fierce punch to Kyle's left eye blackened it almost immediately as the cowardly man began to whimper in pain and fear. Connor then blackened the right eye as he gave Kyle another brutal punch in honor of each of his victims slain.

"Second and third victims, Keyana and Jacelyn. They were best friends in high school and didn't give you the time of day when you asked them out. You found out where Keyana lived and lured her here as well under the guise of a blind date with a fake name and profile picture, murdered her, and dumped her behind a casino. Then you stalked Jacelyn through the shopping district and dragged her in the empty parking lot behind the grocery store. I presume that you had planned to take Keyana to the casino for a date when she turned you down, and Jacelyn refused your advances when you hit on her when she worked in the same grocery store in high school. All those years passed and you just couldn't let it go."

"I j-just-"

"SHUT UP." Squeezing hard Connor further dislocated Kyle's jaw and kept him from talking completely. "Fourth victim was named Marianna. She was your date for the senior prom. I think it's safe to say she said 'no' to going with you to a hotel that night, and you just never got over it. If you couldn't have her then she didn't have the right to live, was that your logic?"

Connor punched Kyle in his already bloodied mouth and cracked three of his teeth in a painful, audible fracture before the demented man could answer.

"Fifth victim was named Rebecca."

Another punch broke out Kyle's already damaged teeth and caused the man to begin choking on the fragments of his teeth as they fell into his mouth and began to slide down his bloody throat.

"The sixth was Maria."

Mercilessly Connor punched Kyle in his mouth again until all of his top teeth were absolutely mangled beyond any salvation.

"And the seventh was Tara. All three of these women went to the same college as you, and all three reported you to the dean for inappropriate behavior. You left their bodies to be found at three of your former college's most well known hang-out location - the campus, a nearby library and a popular bar - where they undoubtedly turned you down and ran away after your horrible advances drove them away."

Kyle began to cough and choke on his blood and teeth without any sign of remorse from Connor. Unable to fully open his eyes Kyle could only endure another punch to face as Connor made him suffer for his murderous spree.

"Then there was Miranda, the eighth victim. She had twisted her ankle while walking along campus on an icy winter day when you were in college together, and instead of falling in love with you because you took her to the hospital for treatment, she thanked you and went on her way. You decided that she was ungrateful and underserving of your kind gesture and made her pay as well. That's why you left her at the hospital parking garage."

Every horrible truth made Kyle cry, but they weren't tears of shame or regret, they were of fear and self-pity. The deplorable man wasn't as smart or slick as he thought himself to be after all. Even as Connor punched him in the throat Kyle never once shed a tear for his victims, only himself.

"Chantelle was your next victim. Like everyone else at your college campus, she enjoyed swimming in the lake on hot summer days and hanging with her friends. She didn't consider you one of those friends, and you wanted her to suffer for not letting you into her social circle. Being selective of the people she allowed to get close to her was inexcusable in your selfish world."

The rage was building inside Connor's mind as he continued to attack Kyle and make him feel every ounce of pain that he had inflicted on thirteen innocent people. It seemed like no matter how many times he struck Kyle, the pain and the brutality wasn't enough of a punishment.

"The tenth victim was Alana. Your first attempt at blind dating in college had gone wrong when she arrived at the theater and discovered that it was the campus creep who had asked her out, and not the seemingly charming man she had been chatting with online. She didn't give you a chance when she realized your deception, and you decided she needed to die because she didn't fall for your lies!"

Connor struck Kyle in his left ear and quickly ruptured the man's ear drum. The pain and echoing in Kyle's ear caused the man to whimper and squirm as he tried and failed to get away from the overpowering deviant. Blood trickled out of his ear just as it continued to flow from his mangled mouth.

"That brings us to your eleventh victim, Gretchen. She was another classmate from your high school days that never spoke to you. When you saw her walking home after work one fateful night you decided that since you had already punished so many of the other women you believed had wronged you that you might as well teach her a lesson as well. After all, if she didn't talk to you then that means she didn't give you a chance either, right? That's why you disposed of her inside of an abandoned clinic; she had done nothing to you and had never once interacted with you. She just had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and needed to placed somewhere to avoid being caught."

Again and again Connor struck Kyle in his face and along his dislocated jaw, then stomped on his hands, his groin, his stomach and knees to ensure that Kyle's agony was as relentless as his reign of terror had been. Despite all of his physical aggression being used to try and quell his anger, Connor didn't feel any better. In fact, he was starting to feel worse.

"And this morning, a local jogger stumbled across the last woman that you felt deserved punishment. Victim number twelve, Kirsten. Kirsten was a waitress at a small diner and had reported your unsettling behavior to her manager, and that resulted in you getting banned. According to the manager many customers flirted with Kirsten, but you were the first and only person that she asked to have banned because of what you said to her. Too bad that ban couldn't have extended throughout the entire city."

With his hands covered in Kyle's blood and spit Connor grabbed the repugnant man by his filthy shirt collar and brought him right up to his face. Peering into Kyle's swollen eyes just filled Connor with a sense of sickness and hatred that he had never felt before.

"Then there was completely innocent Cayley. She was your pupil, a CHILD, and your final victim. Why did you do it?" Wrapping his hand around Kyle's throat Connor prepared to squeeze as he watched the man struggling to speak. "Answer me."

Using a strong motion Connor relocated Kyle's jaw just long enough for the man to speak after he finished sobbing in pain.

"TALK!" Shout in absolute rage Connor managed to make Kyle piss his pants in fear and in pain. "Why did you kill an innocent little girl?"

"C-Cayley was..." Kyle's voice was tremlbing and his words were slurred due to his missing teeth and swollen mouth. "Sh-She was going t-to be just l-like them! A-A-And I just..."

"An innocent child who had done nothing wrong to you in any way just happened to look like the women you already butchered, and you decided that she deserved to die because of your own imagined sleights. You're beyond monstrous, Kyle. You're not even human..."

Unable able to cry out or fight back Kyle just sat on the floor while Connor continued to beat him to within an inch of his life. He could feel Connor's hand tightening around his throat, and he could feel his air being cut off. The absolute rage pouring off of Connor made the deviant's hand feel as warm as fire as they repeatedly struck him and made sure his final moments in life were only that of misery and suffering.

"You don't deserve to live. You don't even deserve to exist as a stain on this floor!"

Connor resumed his beatdown over Kyle's body with strong punches, kicks and stomps. Even as the man's whimpers began to quiet and his body grew unnerving still as the puddle of blood grew around his limp form, Connor just couldn't bring himself to stop the attack. It was as if Connor's repressed programming to hunt down criminals had been unleashed to its fullest potential and he was no longer in control of his functions.

The front door behind Connor was forced open from the outside. Flashing red and blue lights illuminated the dark livingroom as two detectives entered the space with their guns drawn and their warrants in hand.

"What the- Connor?!" Hank rushed up behind the deviant and wrapped both arms around Connor's chest to drag him back and away from Kyle. "What in the fuck are you doing?!"

Connor didn't resist as Hank pulled him back, he merely looked down at his work as Gavin nudged Kyle's leg with his foot. "...Giving justice to those who need it."

Silently Hank took in the sight of the bloodied, mangled body on the floor and of the blood all over Connor's hands, feet and his face from the blood splattering all over the place during the brutal assault. Hank couldn't blame Connor for having such a barbaric reaction, he just didn't expect it.

Gavin holstered his gun and pressed his fingertips to the side of Kyle's neck to check for a pulse. Somehow there was one to be found. "Still alive, Lieutenant."

"Call an ambulance and contain the scene." Hank ordered quickly as he loosened his grip around Connor's chest and put himself between the deviant and brutalized killer's helpless form. "I'll call it in."

"And what're you gonna' say?"

"That we arrived at the house with the warrant and arrived only to find the suspect already incapacitated after a vicious assault. We didn't see anyone else at the scene when we discovered the victim."

Standing up slowly Gavin realized what Hank was asking him to do and had a pang of conscience rise up inside of him. "I can't lie to Fowler; not even about this."

"You won't be lying to Fowler; you'll just be following my orders. I'll handle this." Turning around slowly Hank gave Gavin a blank stare as he made it clear he wasn't going to back down with his decision. "Call it in and repeat what I said. I'm not going to let you get thrown under the bus, but I can't just let Connor lose his career because he did the thing that we've all dreamed of doing to a serial killer and child predator."

"How are we supposed to handle this? We'll be expected to look for the person who killed a killer!"

"Cases grow cold every day, witnesses forget details... It'll be okay as long as Connor gets help for his current emotional state." Motioning toward Gavin's radio clipped to the side of his belt, Hank got the ball rolling on events that needed to take place. "Call the ambulance and radio it in. I'm going to put Connor in a taxi and send him home."

Gavin slowly picked up his radio and obeyed his commanding officer's orders. "Yeah, okay."

"Come on, son." Lightly Hank wrapped his arm around Connor's shoulders and led the deviant outside the house to sit inside the Oldsmobile for a minute and calm down. Hank had known that Connor had a brutally hot temper, but he had never seen it in such a ferocious outburst and display. "Connor, you're going to go home and let Lucas take a look at you. We're going to talk about this as soon as I get home, but until then don't say a word to anyone, all right?"

Blinking slowly Connor looked up at Hank and tried to wipe some of Kyle's blood from his face but succeeded in only smearing more blood from his hand along his cheek. "...I understand."

Unsure of what else to say Hank just stood beside the deviant and wrapped his arm around Connor's upper back again. When Connor leaned against his side in search of support Hank didn't shy away and only embraced Connor tighter. What had happened couldn't be undone, but it could be rectified into an outcome that everyone could live with.

News of the 'Lady Killer' being found brutally beaten in his own home had spread just as fast as news of the thirteenth murder victim's discovery. Many citizens rejoiced in the death of a serial killer and child abuser, while others feared that a second killer was roaming the streets in place of the 'Lady Killer' himself. Conspiracy stories and theories began to fill the city's gossip chains as many people speculated that the 'Lady Killer' was in actuality a cop, a hitman or another powerful figure who had been assassinated after his dirty secret was exposed. Another theory stated that the families of the thirteen victims had all worked together to attack the 'Lady Killer' in his own home with aid from the police. Fortunately, none of the conspiracies were aimed at any specific detectives or being twisted into a tale of a corrupt cover-up.

After Connor had arrived home covered in the blood of a malicious serial killer Lucas immediately met his brother outside, wrapped him up in a towel, and led him to the second floor bathroom to get cleaned up before Cole saw him. While Connor thoroughly showered off with far more soap and shampoo than any android would ever need, Lucas proceeded to wash Connor's blood-soaked uniform, then burn it in the small grill out on the back deck of the house by the pool. It was important to destroy all traces of blood on Connor's person in order to protect him from being prosecuted for what he had done.

Lucas was at a loss of what he should do to help his brother such a horrific experience. Like Hank and Gavin, Lucas couldn't blame Connor for having such a violent and brutal response after locating the serial killer in his home, but he couldn't live with the knowledge that he had helped to cover-up a murder. They were detectives who needed to strive for justice, not vigilantes taking the law into their own hands.

First-aid kit in hand, Lucas ascended the staircase and met with Connor in the bathroom to continue to assist his traumatized older brother. Connor was wrapped up in several towels and sitting on the floor trembling as if he had been lost in the cold wilderness for days. It was a pitiful and uncomfortable sight to behold.

"Let me see your hands." Speaking gently Lucas managed to coax Connor into revealing his damaged hands from beneath the towel for a proper assessment and repair procedure. The artificial skin had been torn open after Connor cut his knuckles along Kyle's broken teeth, and the plastimetal along his knuckles were fractured, chipped and structurally weakened. "You'll need to keep your hands bandaged for two days to ensure the damage heals properly."

"...That's the least of my worries." Tears rolled down Connor's face as he looked to Lucas and confessed his crime. "I lost control. I killed someone."

"He's not dead." Lucas knew what was happening through a cybernetic link with Hank's phone. "He's in a persistent vegetative state, which is admittedly not much better, but he isn't actually dead."

"I'm a disgrace."

"No, you're protective." Securing the gauze in place around one hand, Lucas focused on the other hand while helping his brother through his current plight. "You acted out of a need to protect and defend the innocent. You didn't do what you did for any selfish gain."

"Why do I feel like I've just thrown my entire life away over this? He wasn't worth it."

"Because unlike that serial killer, you're aware of how one person's actions can affect millions of other lives." Putting aside the first-aid kit Lucas sat on the floor beside Connor and remained his literal shoulder to lean on. "If you didn't feel guilty or remorse for what you've done, then I'd fear you've lost your heart."

"I can't go back into the past and correct this mistake. Not this time."

"You're right, you can't. But you can learn from your mistake and use it to help guide you through your future."

"I fear that I won't have much of a future after the precinct discovers what I had done."

"They won't." Hank's voice responded in a ginger tone as he too entered the bathroom and joined the deviant brothers in their discussion. Clearing his throat Hank rubbed his hand along his bearded chin and struggled to look either deviant in the eyes. "Connor, you're not the first detective to go out for blood like this. You won't be the last either."

"Are you saying you're going to pretend that what I had done never happened?"

"No, we're not going to act like what you did was a non-issue, you're going to seek counseling from someone; I don't care who. But we are going to move past this fiasco just as I managed to move beyond my own."

While Connor fell into shocked silence Lucas suddenly spoke up in undeniable curiosity. "...What?"

"A sadistic criminal put a hit out on my wife - my best friend and Cole's mother - and Barbara was taken from us. I didn't stand back and let that slide." Hank sounded as ashamed as Connor felt. "Fowler knew what I did, but he didn't dare have me brought up on charges for my own crimes. Just as he spared me from losing my career and my freedom, I'm going to do the same for you, Connor."

Disgusted with the idea Connor attempted to protest Hank's plan of action. "I can't have you lying-"

"There won't be any lies told, son. Gavin and I arrived at the suspect's house with our warrants, found the front door already broken in, and the suspect laying beaten and unconscious on the livingroom floor." Shrugging almost casually Hank made it seem like covering up a fellow detective's crime was an everyday occurrence. "At the time of our arrival there were only detectives and the suspects at the scene."

"Omission of details is still deception."

"Maybe. But no one's going to complain that a serial killer was left to rot away forgotten on life support until the judge finally approves the D.N.R. order found in his wallet. That's not a convenient discovery either, he had a signed D.N.R. in his wallet when the doctors began checking him over at the hospital." Hank knelt down in front of Connor and got eye level with the shaken deviant. "Son, we're not going to pretend that this never happened or that you don't need some help, we're just not going to dwell on it and let it define the rest of your life. We're going to support you through this and we're going to stay a family no matter what happens, I promise."

Shame filled Connor's soulful brown eyes as he began to openly weep and accept that everything that had happened wasn't just another horrible nightmare. The deviant detective had nearly taken another person's life with his bare hands despite having taken an oath to protect and serve, and now his heart was being torn in two about his actions and the eventual consequences.

Arguably Connor brought true justice the families of the thirteen murder victims, but one could also say he had allowed his own desire for vengeance to cloud his judgement. Ultimately only time would determine Connor's fate, and when that time came no one knew how Connor would react or what impact such fate would have on his future as a detective and as a leader of New Jericho.

-next chapter-

TL;DR - A human kills several women and one little girl over selfish and misguided reasons, Connor loses his cool and tracks down the killer to beat him to a pulp and ends up nearly killing him by mistake. Hank covers up the attack and decides that he needs to get Connor some serious help to ensure he doesn't have a total breakdown or lose his career.