The snow had thawed for the remainder of autumn giving way to slightly more bearable weather. Enough time had passed since the peaceful Demonstration and subsequent Revolution that Connor was officially made a part of the police force as Hank's permanent partner on the newly officiated deviant division. Connor was also the first android detective in police history, which made him the perfect partner for Hank since Hank was the youngest police Lieutenant in Detroit's history. Hank was willing to keep Connor as his partner as the two had endured several dangerous situations together in what was supposed to be a brief partnership, and with that time together they had become fairly good friends.
Hank's decades of experience and intuition made him the ideal person to work with Connor as the deviant detective could detect even the smallest bits of evidence that humans otherwise couldn't see. All the while Connor was analyzing evidence Hank could look at the situation with a human's more empathetic perspective to complement Connor's more rigid analytical deductions until Connor had more emotional experience under his belt. The duo had already experienced many trials as partners through the Revolution, as well as enduring some other challenges that neither had expected, but it didn't deter either of the two detectives from trying to make their unorthodox partnership work.
The pursuit of a suspected android murderer through an abandoned property brought Connor and Hank into another dangerous situation as the deranged and enraged human began firing shots at the pursuing detectives in a desperate bid to escape. There was no denying that the human was the prime suspect in the deviant android's death, and being such a suspect guaranteed that the police were going to bring him into custody to ask a few choice questions.
"Shots fired!"
Hank shouted as he ducked down beside the exterior of the brick house that sat upon the expansive property to get out of the line of fire and to stay out of sight. He drew his own gun from the holster on his hip and got on the radio from his coat pocket to call for assistance directly from dispatch.
"Requesting back-up at this location; shots fired! Move it!"
Connor's quick reflexes allowed him to weave between the frantic gunshots as he closed in on the suspect through the backyard of the property with a graceful sprint without any sign of hesitation behind his steps. Focused solely on apprehending the suspect Connor showed no concern for his own wellbeing as he quickly closed the gap between himself and the fleeing suspect.
"Connor? Connor, get back here!"
Annoyed at Connor's bold nature Hank shouted at his partner as he watched the determined deviant hot on the suspect's heels already several yards away from where he had ducked down.
"CONNOR! Get back here now, that's an order, damn it!"
The suspect raced along the edge of a deep pool in the rear of the property, aiming for the fence at the eastern edge of the property as his only possible escape route. Unfortunately for the suspect, Connor was far too quick and managed to catch up to the fleeing man with little difficulty.
"STOP!" Connor commanded as he grabbed onto the suspect's shoulder to stop the man dead in his tracks before he had the chance to scale the fence and disappear into the night. "Detroit Police!"
Swinging his arm around quickly the suspect smashed the side of his now empty gun against Connor's left temple stunning the deviant with the sudden blow to his head. The force of the impact was strong enough to cause Connor to stumble backward on his feet and then to the side with a violent jolt of pain. Connor stopped short and stood in a daze, completely vulnerable to further attack as he tried to regain his balance.
Smashing the gun against Connor's head one more time a spray of blue blood erupted from a fresh cut under Connor's eye as the deviant's systems were knocked offline; his L.E.D. instantly shifting from an alert yellow to critical red in response to the two strikes.
"Shit! Connor?!"
Hank had seen the attack from the distance and began sprinting across the property to aid his injured partner while giving another update on the situation to dispatch through his radio.
"Fuck! Officer down!"
Falling unconscious courtesy to the two blows to the head, Connor collapsed slightly backward to his side and fell into the deep pool with a large 'splash' erupting from the previously still and icy cold water. Unable to fend for himself Connor quickly sank to the bottom of the pool against his will, the chlorinated pool water readily filling his ventilation biocomponents - his artificial lungs - without stopping until the two vital biocomponents were nearly full.
The suspect saw Hank barreling toward him and wisely resumed fleeing from the senior detective the moment that he saw the rage in Hank's eyes. However, Officer Miller was already at the scene along with Gavin. The two additional officers managed to catch and cuff the suspect as he climbed over the fence and landed on the sidewalk on the other side of the property right in front of Chris and Gavin.
'Suspect in custody.' Gavin announced over the radio much to Hank's somewhat relief. He hated hearing Gavin's voice but loved hearing good news about a successful arrest. 'Scene under control.'
As Hank reached the edge of the pool where he had seen Connor fall into the water he abruptly stopped and stared at the hauntingly still body lying on their back at the bottom of the pool under the shimmering water. The red glow of Connor's L.E.D. made the water around his head look like pale blood and in turn Hank's stomach twisted.
"Connor?! Hang on, kid, I'll get ya' outta' there!"
Reacting quickly Hank threw off his heavy coat, dropped his gun and dove into the water to rescue his submerged partner before it was too late.
In a matter of seconds Hank had swum down to the bottom of the pool and hooked his arm around Connor's chest to hoist the deviant back up to the surface. Kicking off the bottom of the pool Hank swam furiously to the surface with one arm and broke through the water with a loud gasp as he carried his partner's limp body over to the edge of the pool to safety.
"Lieutenant?" Chris had heard Hank shouting and ran into the backyard just in time to see the senior detective dive into the water. As soon as he saw Connor unconscious in Hank's grip, Chris reached right hand into the pool and grabbed hold of the deviant's limp arms to heft Connor up and out of the water and onto the concrete edge of the pool. "What the hell happened?"
"Suspect struck him with a gun." Hank shouted as he pulled himself up over the edge of the pool and out of the water as well. The cold water soaking into his clothes meeting the cold air all around him caused Hank to begin shivering fairly quickly. "He went down before I got to him."
"Shit..." Chris laid Connor down flat beside the pool on his back and looked down at the deviant's expressionless face. Even with emergency training as a first responder Chris felt useless as he looked down at Connor's motionless form. "I don't know how to help him."
As expected, Connor wasn't ventilating (breathing) and showed no sign of returning consciousness.
"Just help Gavin with the suspect, I'll take care of Connor."
Taking control of the situation Hank commanded Chris to help elsewhere as he knelt beside Connor's and patted the deviant's cold cheek to try to provoke a response from his wounded partner. There was still no sign of life or alertness from the effectively drowned deviant.
"Connor? Wake up, kid. We need you to open his eyes."
Despite Hank's deep voice calling out to him Connor didn't move or verbally respond. His L.E.D. was still red and pulsing at a dangerously low speed.
Thinking quickly and logically Hank remembered that despite being an android Connor did in fact breathe. The act of breathing worked with Connor's ventilation biocomponents that kept the android from overheating by simulating the same type of breathing pattern as a human. If Connor was unable to hold his breath as he fell unconscious into the pool then his system would have filled with water just like the lungs of any other drowned human.
Hank grabbed on to Connor's black tie and loosened it with a quick yank as he pulled open the drenched white dress shirt beneath. The buttons popped open in sequence as Connor's bare, motionless chest was exposed to ensure Hank was able to provide aid as needed.
"Lieutenant?" Chris asked as he watched Hank interlace the fingers of his two hands together, one hand over top the other, to create a single fist. "What're you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doin'?"
"...C.P.R.?" The incredulous tone in Chris's voice was oddly appropriate for the moment. "On... an android?"
"Right!"
"But he's not-"
Ignoring the comment Hank compressed Connor's chest near the central and lower portion of where his ribcage would be if he didn't have a plastimetal frame in place of a skeletal structure. With each compression Connor's head lolled slightly in response to the physical pressure being applied to his body, and his L.E.D. would blink and brighten in red flashes as his systems struggled to find a way to correct itself in light of having an abundance of unnecessary water inside the ventilation biocomponents.
"Come on Connor, don't be that maniac's last victim." Encouraging the deviant to respond and breathe Hank never broke his rhythm of compressions. "Wake up!"
Chris took a step back and watched in awe as Hank fought to revive the deviant from what seemed like a watery demise.
"Connor, wake up... Breathe!" Hank shouted again as he continued to compress the deviant's chest. "That's another order, damn it! Respond!"
Connor's red L.E.D. suddenly flashed yellow and his soulful brown eyes snapped open as a torrent of pool water came gushing out from between his lips. Hank reacted quickly and rolled Connor from his back onto his side, his strong hand supporting Connor's head and neck as he moved him, so the deviant could cough up the water without choking in the process.
"That's it, let it out..." Finally lowering his voice Hank encouraged the deviant to keep coughing and spit up the chlorinated water that had no business being in his system to begin with. Patting his hand along the middle of Connor's back lightly Hank tried to ease his partner's obvious discomfort. "Keep coughing."
"I'll be damned." Chris shook his head and smiled at the successful deed he had just witnessed. "You just gave C.P.R. to an android. And it worked!"
Sternly Hank looked up at Chris as he put his hand between Connor's shoulder blades and held his distressed partner as still as possible. "Don't ever give up on Connor. He's a real 'diehard'."
The L.E.D. in Connor's right temple flashed back to red as the deviant continued coughing as he laid on his side despite all of the water being successfully expelled from his systems. The massive amount he had inhaled was actually quite impressive considering how briefly he was submerged in the cold water.
"You going to be okay?" The senior detective asked as he looked down at Connor's face from where he was kneeling. It was hard for him to gauge how well Connor's system was rebooting after everything he had just endured. "What's going on?"
Connor swallowed once before he spoke, his voice hoarse and quivering. "...I need to-"
With little warning Connor suddenly curled around himself as a rush of Thirium, blue blood, erupted from his mouth and stained the concrete around the pill a dark blue puddle.
"What the!?" Hank almost jumped back in shock but kept himself knelt down at the deviant's side for Connor's sake. "Holy shit... Did I hurt you!?"
Despite everything that just happened Connor managed to shake his head a very weak 'no' before he threw-up more Thirium all over the pool edge.
"Then what's going on?"
After a third and final bout of vomiting Connor's body relaxed, and he tried to roll over onto his back again. With Hank's guidance the battered deviant was able to lay flat on his back and catch his breath as a trickle of Thirium ran down his chin from his blue stained lips and teeth.
"Talk to me, kid. It'll be okay."
"Ch-Chlorine..." Connor huffed as his L.E.D. returned to blinking yellow instead of red. "Corrosive to... metal and b-biocomponents."
Hank put his palm under Connor's head and lifted him up slightly in a comforting gesture. As Connor caught his breath his words came easier, though the distant stare in his soulful brown eyes still worried the senior detective.
"The... Thirium cycled through my... a-affected biocomponents to... absorb the chlorinated water." Sounding exhausted Connor managed to explain what was happening between gasping breaths. His system was working in overdrive and as a cruel result was his ventilation system needed to work harder to compensate despite just being compromised. "Once absorbed-"
Able to figure out what had happened through Connor's explanation Hank let out a sigh of relief and his tense shoulders began to slump. "I get it. You threw-up the contaminated Thirium to get it out of your system."
Connor nodded weakly to confirm Hank's theory as the senior detective continued to support his head up from the hard concrete pool edge. It was Hank's only means of helping his partner feel supported after his near drowning.
"Shit, that's one hell of a detox program you androids got built in there."
A faint grin appeared on Connor's face as he weakly sat upright on the edge of the pool with Hank's help. While Connor's system recalibrated Hank reached for his coat, the only piece of his clothing that wasn't soaked through, and draped it around the deviant's shaking shoulders. "Thank you."
"Are you going to be all right? We're not going to have visit Markus at New Jericho or stop at a facility to get you patched up, are we?"
"No. I'll be fine." Connor confirmed as he attempted to stand up but failed. Hank stood up first and offered Connor his hand, to which the deviant readily accepted as the senior detective helped him up to his feet. Glancing down at the blue blood left at the pool's edge Connor checked his system and confirmed that he lost fourteen percent of his overall Thirium volume. "I will require additional Thirium to replace what I lost, nothing more."
"Yeah, no problem." Relieved that his partner was going to be okay Hank patted Connor's shoulder as he escorted his partner off the property and back to the Oldsmobile parked in front of the property along the street. "Gavin and Chris caught the suspect, so that means they get to fill out the paperwork while I get you back home to dry off and drink some Thirium."
"I'm sorry, I should've been able to catch him."
"Don't be sorry, kid." Brushing off the perceived failure Hank escorted Connor off the property while additional police officers swarmed the area and explained what had happened to the righteously annoyed property owners who were rudely awoken from their sleep. "That sick freak cold-cocked you and ran like a damn coward. No one's going to blame you for getting knocked out by a gun to the head."
"But I still should've-"
"No, shut up." Hank held up his hand as if to physically silence Connor mid sentence. "It's not your problem."
"S-Sorry."
Openly sighing Hank gave Connor an irritated glance. "Didn't I just tell you to not be sorry?"
"...Yes."
"Then stop it."
"...Very well." Connor was walking slower than usual due to his low Thirium levels as he was escorted back to the Oldsmobile. While his volume wasn't critically low it was still enough to noticeably slow the deviant down as he walked through the side yard. "Th-Thank you for saving me, Lieutenant. Your technique was most effective at r-rebooting my system before any permanent d-damage could be done to my processors and biocomponents due to the chlorine."
"You're welcome. And by the way, tomorrow you're going to take swimming lessons." Joking yet somewhat serious, Hank let Connor know that he needed to be more careful in the future. He gave the deviant's upper back a small pat and watched Connor cough up a little more pool water afterward. "I'm not diving into any more pools to save your plastic ass. I don't get paid enough for that kind of shit. Hell, I don't get paid enough as it is!"
"That sounds reasonable."
"Good." Leading Connor to the large Oldsmobile parked among the other sleeker patrol cars, Hank opened the passenger side door of his aged vehicle and practically pushed Connor inside to sit down. "Let's get you back home, warmed up, cleaned up and dried off. I have extra Thirium stocked up in the kitchen and I know Sumo will be happy to keep you warm while you dry off on the couch."
"All right." Covering his mouth as he coughed again Connor tried to clear his throat and speak more clearly as he waited for the remaining pool water to clear from his ventilation biocomponents. It'd be a while before his vents would fully dry out and the cough would cease. "That is a very acceptable decision."
"Yeah, I thought you'd like that." Joining Connor inside the car Hank looked over at his soaking wet partner, then down at his own soaked clothing and just shook his head at the sight. "Man, the car's going to smell like chlorine for a week!"
"That's preferable over Sumo's lingering scent that has saturated into the fabric of the backseats." Patting his palm over his chest Connor steadied his voice and took in a cleansing breath. "As well as your particularly potent cologne."
"Ha, ha..." The commentary wasn't needed and yet Hank couldn't fault Connor for his observations. "Smartass. Keep it up, and next time I'll throw you into the deep end of the pool and just watch you save yourself."
-next chapter-