The morning seemed normal as Connor arrived at the precinct at his usual time but the normalcy disappeared quickly when the deviant found that Hank had yet to arrive for their scheduled shift. Whether it was because of guilt or genuine concern for the well being of the senior detective, Connor pulled his emergency phone from his jacket pocket and contemplated calling Hank to check in on him, only to feel a strong, calloused hand clamp down on his shoulder from behind as Hank himself strolled through the bullpen and sat down at his desk as casually as possible. The immediate relief upon seeing Hank in person prompted Hank to lower the phone at his side.

Joining Hank at their desks Connor sat down and offered Hank a kind smirk and nod of his head. Having Hank arrive at the precinct after him gave Connor flashes to the first time he began working with Hank prior to the historic Revolution almost two years prior.

"I hate to remind you of this kid, but I was working here long before you ever showed up." Hank grinned as he looked at Connor's steadily relaxing expression as the deviant slipped the emergency phone into his blazer pocket. "How was your first night in the new apartment?"

"It was refreshingly calm." Connor replied honestly as he peered at Hank around his terminal screen. "Lucas and I were able to acclimate ourselves very well."

"And you got those security cameras installed above your doors, right?"

"Yes. They have both been installed and are motion activated. Lucas and I are still the only occupants of the complex which guarantees that if the camera does become active it'll be from one of us entering or leaving the apartment, or Chuck handling routine maintenance." Connor's brow furrowed a little as he asked Hank a curious question. "Might I ask why you insisted on the additional cameras despite the building already being secured?"

"Because I don't trust humans." The answer was as blunt as it was honest. "Specifically the ones who still hate androids and would try to go after deviants who aren't as safely protected as the ones holed up inside New Jericho Tower."

"I can protect myself."

"I know you can, but what about Lucas?"

"...Oh. I see." The thought made Connor feel uncomfortably worried and his blue L.E.D. flashed to red briefly before settling back on its calm blue hue. "I suppose that's a logical fear."

"It's not that I don't think you couldn't protect him or anything," Hank leaned forward against his desk as he spoke. "that's not all what I'm saying. I trust you completely, but if Lucas is alone at the apartment while you're here at work someone stupid might try to make a move. The cameras just makes me feel better knowing that if something does happen we can find the person responsible."

"I understand."

"Good. Now," the cautious senior detective changed the subject back to their work at hand. "late last night Chris and Gavin came across a former android black marketeer and his illegal stash downtown. At least six android bodies were found in the building and now we need to identify them and their cause of death."

Connor replied sarcastically as his L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow with empathetic distress. "That's not the best way to begin a morning, is it?"

"Nope." Hank stated with a dry tone as he leaned back in his chair and read over the details of the case on his terminal screen. "Far from it."

The black marketeer in question had set up his 'business' in the back of a shady pawnshop known as the "Uncut Diamond" on the seedier side of town, and had been taking advantage of desperate deviants for months. The owner of the pawn shop, the leader of the black market, had been turned in by a now former employee who had the misfortune of accidentally looking for a noted item in the basement rather of the shop's storage room. Stumbling across strewn about android limbs and biocomponents in the basement had practically caused the employee to flee from the building screaming in fear and promptly called the cops as soon as he was back at his house.

Chris and Gavin had answered the call and stumbled across the various limbs and blue blood staining the floors of the basement. Calling in the scene and getting Ben's C.S.I. team into the basement had been easy, but finding the person responsible for the black market was up to Hank and Connor.

"I hate pawnshops." Hank openly lamented as he and Connor entered the building that had been secured by police hologram tape. "Might as well throw every fucking thing in this place into our evidence room. It's all stolen merchandise."

"How can you be certain?"

Without breaking stride Hank pointed to a glass case containing a line of antique watches and explained his reasoning. "No one living in this area would ever have a watch like that to pawn to begin with, and anyone would could afford to have that kind of watch to begin with would never have to pawn it at all."

"What if the watch in question was a gift or a family heirloom?"

"No one would be able to part with a gift like that, no matter how desperate they felt. I'm speaking from personal experience on this one, kid."

From the opened basement door Chris's voice sounded off to call over the two detectives and give them an update. "Hey, over here. Hope you don't have a weak stomach this morning."

"That bad, huh?" In a gruff voice Hank asked about the situation from the distance as he and Connor approached the basement. "Find the owner yet or is he still M.I.A.?"

"We have the owner's name but you won't have to interrogate him." Chris confirmed as he passed through the basement door to wait for Gavin to join him upstairs. "The owner is, get this, Martin Jonas. The guy running the place for him while he's in prison is Mathew Hadish. Hadish has a record for underground gambling, selling stolen merchandise and holding unregistered firearms. We're going to check out Hadish's last known address for any information. See you guys back at the precinct."

Connor looked suddenly ill at knowing the pawnshop was owned by the infamous android serial killer. Jonas had been captured, tried for his crimes and sentenced to life in prison, but somehow the abhorrent man was still a threat.

"You okay, son?" Putting his hand to Connor's shoulder Hank tried to be as supportive as possible. "You don't have to go down there if you can't handle it."

"I'll be fine. I want to do this." Steeling himself for what he was about to see Connor took a bold step forward for his peoples' sake. "I need to help the deviant community find justice."

"Okay. Let's go."

Stepping down the narrow basement stairwell first Hank spotted Gavin standing near the center of the large macabre room with his arms defensively crossed over his chest. Despite usually having an indifferent, if not completely uninterested outlook on the deaths of androids, the Sergeant seemed unsettled by the numerous torn limbs and forcefully extracted biocomponents that marked the demise of so many unsuspecting androids. Each stolen piece lined the walls of the basement like trophies of the damned.

"Lieutenant." Gavin turned around and looked at Hank as soon as he heard the footsteps creaking on the staircase behind him. "You can have this case, I'm out of here. This sick freak needs to find a new hobby..."

Connor reached the bottom of the staircase and stepped aside as Gavin passed him by without so much as a snide insult toward the deviant detective. Gavin hastily departed from the basement without ever looking back at the torture room behind him.

"Even Gavin seems upset by this ordeal." Connor noted with impeccable professionalism as he began scanning the crime scene. The dried Thirium stains and destroyed android limbs reminded Connor of the way the deviants were gunned down and torn apart during the Raid on Jericho. "This entire space was dedicated solely to tearing android bodies apart."

"Then we must be dealing with some really demented fuck if Gavin actually gives a damn about androids being parted out."

"That is one way to look at the situation." Connor began scanning the contents of the room noting the model numbers of each missing limb as well as the serial numbers of every stolen biocomponent. The trace amounts of Thirium had long since evaporated but Connor could still see the blue blood that stained each stolen part thanks to his enhanced vision. "The term 'demented' may be entirely accurate."

The basement was an absolute blood bath of invisible sapphire. It reminded Connor of his confrontation with Martin Jonas at the Canadian cabin when he had been abducted and needed to fight for his life while protecting other abducted deviants. It made the deviant detective's blue blood freeze and his heart race with anxious memories of that horrific ordeal he had just barely managed to survive.

Hank turned to look at Connor as the deviant's L.E.D. flashed in yellow during his scan, as well as reflect his distress at the sight of the brutal scene. "Find anything noteworthy?"

"...The biocomponents are all of advanced models and are all vital pieces required for an android to function properly." Connor finally replied despondently after a brief pause. "However, the limbs come from all possible models of androids; both simple and advanced." Stopping to count the total number of androids that had been killed and stripped of their parts Connor swallowed nervously. "The serial numbers that have yet to be removed can be traced directly to deviants who had been reported missing since February of 2038, during the origin of deviancy throughout the city."

"What better way to cover up a bunch of murders than to kill those who are already missing or suspected runaways?"

"...I wouldn't know."

"How many victims are we dealing with altogether?"

"I can confirm fifty-six different androids who have had their biocomponents or limbs removed in this basement. The serial numbers on approximately thirty-two percent of the overall inventory have already been removed via acid or a drill."

"So give me a rough estimate. How many total victims could we possible have?"

Connor's L.E.D. flashed to red then back to yellow as he shook his head and stared at the floor. "...Ninety-four."

"Sounds like we may have found Jonas's silent partner in crime."

"I certainly hope so. If there was a second android serial killer operating under their own volition I don't think I'd be able to handle this case."

"Hey, don't worry, son. I won't let anything happen to you, all right?"

"Yeah..." Connor's voice was a trembling whisper as he spoke with his partner and adoptive father. "I know."

Hank folded his arms over his chest as he noted the fear that seemed to be overwhelming Connor's mind. "Do you want to pass off the case to someone else? No one would blame you."

Suddenly filled with vigor Connor turned and nearly shouted in response. "No! No... I need to solve this case. I won't let myself be intimidated by one person behind bars and another person on the run, and fail to protect my people."

"Good for you." Putting his hand to Connor's shoulder once more Hank gave Connor an approving nod. "Come on, let's see if we can find this guy and track his sorry ass down."

Eager to get the vicious man off the streets Connor gave Hank a confident nod of his head. "Gladly."

Once Connor and Hank returned to the precinct the two detectives set their focus on the brutal case at hand. With his L.E.D. glowing a steady yellow in tandem with his heartbeat Connor anxiously fidgeted with the quarter over the knuckles of his left hand while he accessed every available file on Mathew Hadish with his terminal. The stolen android parts - the limbs and biocomponents, had been transported to the precinct's evidence room and filed away for the future trial against the malicious man, but they still needed to find Hadish and arrest him before any good could come from the atrocious crime that the demented man had committed in the Thirium soaked basement.

Using records from New Jericho Tower as well as previously filled missing deviants reports Connor was able to confirm the identities of the confirmed fifty-six victims and close their otherwise cold case files at last. The conclusion wasn't as one would have hoped for, but it was a conclusion nonetheless.

"It says here that Matthew Hadish had a house on the other side of the city." Connor registered sharply as he attempted to locate the second android serial killer. "But Chris and Gavin failed to locate him at this currently known residence."

"Yup. Looks like he skipped town."

"Hadish had remained in the city up until he was unexpectedly caught by his now former employee. He had no plan to leave and seemingly had nowhere to go."

"Yeah? So?"

"So maybe he didn't go too far from his usual 'hunting ground'."

Hank's brow arched as he leaned his chin against the palm of his hand while resting his elbow atop his desk. "What're you thinking, kid?"

"I think we should check out the abandoned building that Jonas had used when he dismembered the androids he had abducted."

"Maybe. I don't think Hadish would be stupid enough to go there, but right now it's the best lead we got. I'll let Chris know."

"Shouldn't we investigate it ourselves?"

"Why?" The senior detective casually stood up from his desk and walked slowly over to where Chris was sitting at his own desk. "We don't know anything for certain, so why drive all the way out there just to come back empty handed?"

Connor knew that Hank was lying about the lead being a pointless endeavor for the two of them to take and he knew that Hank was just trying to protect him from an emotional pain. Despite understanding Hank's reasoning Connor still felt offended by the gesture and his yellow L.E.D. flickered in red as a result.

"Chris is going to check it out." Hank stated as he returned to his desk and resumed checking through the files on his terminal. "He'll call us if he finds anything worth talking about."

Without saying a word Connor continued to dance the coin over his knuckles as he painstakingly took in every detail about Hadish and cross-referenced the information they already had on Jonas. Hadish was a frequent customer at Jonas's pawnshop and the two went into business with one another just a few weeks into the beginning stages of android deviancy. Though circumstantial, the evidence was still enough justify search warrants on any and all properties that the two men had owned and Connor was determined to examine them for himself.

Hank had noticed the same pattern that Connor had as he looked at his own terminal screen, and he promptly informed Chris of the connection. "Looks like Hadish owned a storage locker downtown." Turning to speak to Chris from where he sat Hank gave the younger officer more information to use. "Maybe there's something in there, Chris."

Connor didn't reply to the comment and continued to take in the information on the terminal screen in front of him.

"Know what?" Waving his hand toward Chris for a second Hank insisted that the officer back down for a moment. "Let's check it out for ourselves, Connor. If anything we'll just find more damning evidence to lengthen both Jonas and Hadish's sentences and ensure they rot behind bars."

At Hank's insistence Connor agreed to the search of the storage locker, though he didn't say anything as he followed Hank out of the precinct to begin their search for a lead or a clue. The concept of being sheltered or being kept at arm's length made Connor feel an uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't that he was offended by the concept of someone watching his back, it was the idea of being treated like a fragile piece of glass that had bothered the usually strong and resilient deviant.

During the entire drive from the precinct and out the storage facilities Connor focused entirely on the coin that he nimbly danced over his knuckles then back and forth between his two palms with a steady rhythm. The constant juggling of the quarter usually annoyed Hank after just a few minutes, but the senior detective decided not to say anything about it as he knew that Connor needed the distraction for the time being. Connor had noticed that Hank was actively making an effort to not say anything about the annoying coin and only confirmed Connor's suspicions that Hank was going to be hovering protectively over him throughout the entire investigation.

The storage area itself was fairly well secured and under constant surveillance to prevent theft and to ensure no one tried to sneak out of the area with their stuff without paying up their monthly lease or deposits. Such cameras could potentially give the two detectives the lead they needed on Hadish as long as the surveillance footage was kept for safekeeping and not erased over time.

"These storage sheds are usually holding something that sends creeps like Hadish up shit's creek." Hank stated sternly as he parked the car in the lot just outside the designated shed. "If we don't find anything then I bet a hundred bucks that Chris will."

Connor remained quiet as he kept his focus on the coin and his L.E.D. blinked in a slow red.

"All right." The senior detective turned off the engine and gave his partner a casual nod. "Let's get this done."

"I'd rather wait out here." Connor stated flatly as flipped the coin in the air and grabbed it quickly with his left palm. "I need to think."

"...Okay. I'll be back in a few minutes." Working alone Hank opened his door and slammed it shut as he walked into the main office of the storage facility to speak with the owner and show the owner his badge and search warrant. "I won't be too long."

Cybernetically connecting to the precinct Connor closed his eyes and registered the report that Chris had just filed regarding his and Gavin's search of the abandoned building where Jonas had previously operated. Expectedly the building had remained abandoned ever since Jonas had been arrested and the inventory of his sinister workshop taken into evidence. Taking the moment to cybernetically connect to New Jericho Tower the dedicated detective updated Markus on the unusual case and of the limited progress of the ongoing investigation. Unfortunately, no one at the tower had any information that could aid the investigation any further, but Markus would continue to try to find witnesses from his end in an attempt to help.

Nearly an hour passed before Hank returned to the car with a heavy sigh and grimace on his face. "Glad you didn't take me up on that bet. That storage locker was just full of shitty albums from the 60's and some broken, moldy furniture."

"A shame." Was the only response Connor gave as Hank turned the key in the ignition and exited the storage area's parking lot. "Should've known it wouldn't have been easy."

As the two detectives returned to the precinct empty handed Hank noticed that Connor seemed not only distracted but somehow distant. It wasn't often that Connor put up borders and Hank wanted to make sure there wasn't something serious weighing on the young deviant's mind.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Connor lied in a terse tone as he tossed his coin back and forth between his hands. "I'm just thinking."

"Wait... Are you mad at me?"

Silence.

"Damn it, Connor. If you're mad at me tell me why. We can't work together if you're pissed off at me."

Connor caught his coin in his left hand and held it in a tight grip as he finally answered. "...Why don't you trust me to handle this case?"

"Whoa, whoa, let's get one thing straight here: I do trust you. I just don't want to see you get torn apart by a madman."

"I know how to protect myself, I've done so before."

"I hate to break it to ya', son, but you were abducted by this guy's partner in crime just a few months ago. You were almost killed by him and I never want to see you collapsed in a puddle of your own blood ever again."

"I survived, Hank. I survived, escaped from that Hellhole and aided other captured deviants."

"Right, because you're clever and outwitted a sadist. That's not entirely too difficult for someone who was programmed to adapt to all types of human behavior to handle."

"Yet, when I suggested returning to the abandoned building to continue the investigation, you insisted that someone else follow the lead. It seems you don't trust my judgment on this case."

"Connor." Hank pulled the car to the side of the road and parked for a moment so he could talk to his stubborn son directly. "Listen to me. I trust you with my life and I know your judgment is as reliable as my own. The reason I didn't want you to go back to that building is because I didn't want you to return to the place where you were attacked and abducted. It can be really traumatizing to go back to such a horrible place."

"I can handle it, Hank." The bitterness in Connor's voice was painful and honest. "Give me the chance to prove it."

"Yeah, I know you can... Despite what you said last night when you left for your own apartment don't need me to guide you, right?"

Ignoring the question Connor continued with his poor attitude and bitter tone. "We should return to the precinct." The stubborn deviant pocketed his coin and looked out his side window to the buildings dotted along the sidewalk. "I may be able to find another lead and make some progress."

With a deep sigh Hank begrudgingly pulled the car back onto the street to return to the precinct. The senior detective hated that Connor was offended by his choices, but he didn't have the time or energy to explain things for the deviant to properly understand. It wasn't an issue of mistrust targeted toward Connor, it was about mistrust at the suspect who had worked with the man who had attacked and nearly killed Connor.

All Hank wanted to do was keep his partner, his son, safe from harm.

Despite their best combined efforts neither Connor, Hank, Chris or Gavin could locate Hadish or any other possible hiding place he'd use to avoid the law. Jonas was still in prison over the border in Canada and wouldn't be extradited back to the United States for another eight months to face his second trial, and of course the prison was monitoring Jonas's communications very closely. In turn, that ruled out Hadish relying on his partner in crime for assistance and the final lead went cold. Feeling deterred but not defeated Connor left the precinct once his shift was over, rather than trying to stay late to work on the case any further. Hank had offered to drive the deviant back to his apartment but Connor declined in favor of using an autonomous taxi so he could be alone with his thoughts.

The preoccupied deviant detective returned to his apartment and greeted Lucas with a need to vent. Almost immediately Connor informed Lucas of the bizarre case he was working on with Hank, and asked if he happened to have any information on the missing deviants they had identified. Unfortunately, Lucas knew even less about the case than Connor did.

"I need to figure this out." Connor stated despondently as he absentmindedly began strumming an unnamed tune on his guitar. Lucas was sitting beside him on their blue couch against the livingroom wall as he played. "Every android in the city is counting on me and I don't know how to help them."

"You'll find him, big brother." Doing his best to supportive and helpful Lucas offered Connor some words of encouragement. "Just give yourself the time to think."

"I have all the time in the world, but I can't speak for the other androids."

"Don't try to speak for all of the androids." Lucas emphasized wisely as he finished cybernetically filing his own technicians reports to New Jericho and pondered his next painting just waiting to get started. "Just speak for the victims. Once you find this Hadish person you'll bring our person the justice that they deserve."

"I'm attempting to do so. It's frustratingly difficult."

"Don't stress yourself out." The caution in Lucas's tone was justified as he was well aware of his big brother's obsessive mind and monitored his steadily rising stress levels. "If you push yourself too hard you may get pulled from the case altogether or even collapse."

"I wouldn't be as stressed as I already am if Hank would just... trust me."

"From what I you've told me it sounds like Hank does trust you. He is merely worried that what happened to you once before could happen again."

"I have reassured him that I can protect myself numerous times and yet his attitude remains the same."

"Maybe Hank isn't worried about you failing to protect yourself so much as he is worried that he will fail to protect you."

Connor stopped strumming his guitar and gave his little brother an odd look from where he sat. "How so?"

"Hank was devastated when Jonas took you captive." The increasingly empathetic deviant technician explained logically in a level tone of voice. "He felt incredibly guilty that you were abducted from a crime scene while he was so close by and was unable to help you. I could feel the grief and self loathing in his voice when he spoke with me after you had been found. It was... painful."

"That's very disconcerting." Dropping his pick from his strings Connor looked away from Lucas and stared at the beige carpeted floor with his own guilt beginning to well up in his eyes. The yellow flickering of his L.E.D. expertly reflected Connor's inner distress. "I hadn't even considered the emotional strain that Hank must've endured during my absence."

"Hank is trying to protect you because he cares about you, not because he mistrusts you. Wouldn't you attempt the same behavior if it was Hank who had a personal grievance with a case and had been abducted or tortured?"

"...Yes." Now fully aware of what Hank was doing and why he was doing it Connor recognized he had been a bit of an ass. "You are correct about that."

"I feel a type of compromise is necessary for you to resolve this mild disagreement and finish your case efficiently."

"You're right about that as well." Connor put aside his guitar and took in a deep breath to try to steady himself as he finally stopped his obsessive thinking. "I'm going to retire for the evening." Standing up from the couch the deviant detective decided it was time to focus his thoughts elsewhere. "Perhaps if I enter an extended period of rest mode my system will be able to process the collected data at a more efficient rate."

"Rest well. I believe I will enter rest mode soon as well."

"Goodnight, brother."

"Goodnight."

As Connor entered his bedroom he slipped off his work uniform; first the gray blazer, the black tie, the white dress shirt, followed by his jeans and then switched into what he considered to be his 'night clothes'. His night clothes consisted of a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants to adopt a more casual look. Laying down on his bed Connor looked at the emergency phone on the nightstand beside him and contemplated calling Hank to speak for a few minutes, but he was still upset by Hank's earlier reactions.

Ignoring the urge to call Hank or text him for the time being Connor closed his eyes and entered rest mode for the rest of the night, but he did set his internal alarm to awaken him two hours earlier than normal. Slowly the yellow L.E.D. cycled back to blue and adopted a steady, consistent pulse as Connor drifted off into a restful night's sleep.

Diligent and professional as ever, the following morning Connor resumed his search into both Mathew Hadish and Martin Jonas in an attempt to find any possible location that the coldhearted murderer could be hiding. Throughout the previous night numerous reports of a man fitting Hadish's description had been filed by observant deviants who knew of the wanted man on the run, but no individual sighting could be fully verified one way or the other. Choosing to use the numerous sightings as a potential focal point as a map over the entire city Connor isolated a single structure in the center of all the sightings to be one of possible interest.

The potential lead was one that filled Connor with hope but he didn't dare act as if the case was coming to an end. Not just yet. He wouldn't be able to rest easy or call the case closed until he had Hadish secured behind bars where he belonged.

"Interesting. Chris?" Connor located the officer at his desk and presented his collected information calmly via electronic tablet. "There is a building under construction at this location that is centralized around the reported Hadish sightings. I wish to investigate it."

"Sure, I'll inform Captain Fowler about the lead." Glancing about Chris noticed that the gruff Lieutenant was nowhere to be seen. "When will Hank get here?"

Connor paused for a moment but answered honestly. "I imagine he will arrive at his usual time. We will wait for him."

"Yeah, no problem."

Standing beside his own desk Connor took the coin from his pocket and began to fuss with it again as he contemplated what Lucas had suggested to him last night about Hank just trying to keep him safe. Unwilling to recuse himself from the investigation and unwilling to upset Hank any further by pursuing the dangerous case alone, Connor thought of a way to meet the seasoned detective half-way and bridge the stressful that was forming between them.

"...Compromise. Right."

Pocketing his coin fairly quickly Connor made a cybernetic call to Joel up in the precinct dispensary and decided to rely on a secondary source for assistance.

'Joel?'

The call took place inside his own mind which fortunately prevent unwanted eavesdropping.

'Can I speak with you in private for a moment?'

Police converged on the construction site of interest as yet another reported sighting of Hadish came in just as the officers were disembarking from the precinct. Hank and Connor arrived at the scene in the Oldsmobile along with Chris and Gavin as their back-up to begin their investigation. With their guns already drawn before themselves the four officers entered the construction site after ordering the dozens of construction workers to vacate the premises for their own safety. The numerous tips and leads from eye witnesses roaming the area gave the location credence as a potential hideaway for a man trying to elude the law and lay low for a while.

The building under construction was a four story boarding house and had only been partially completed. The top two floors of the building were far more completed than the bottom two floors, and as such provided Hadish with more areas to hide from the police.

"Connor and I will take the top floor and work our way down." Hank stated as he led the way up the lone stairwell in search of the suspect. Giving Chris and Gavin their own orders Hank made sure to remain in control of the situation at all time. "You two stay at the door of the stairwell to cut off his retreat."

Gavin scoffed a little at the order but followed it after a snarky remark. "Sure, you two handle the freak and we'll hang back where it's safe. No problem."

"Shut up, Gavin, or I'll use you as a human-shield." Hank threatened as he and Connor reached the top floor. "Stay behind me, kid."

Connor obeyed and kept low as he followed Hank down the lengthy corridor leading into the various vacated and unfurnished rooms down the stretch of the hallway. One by one Hank slowly opened the doors and looked inside each room while Connor watched his back with a keen eye.

"Room's are clear." The gruff detective stated as he turned to look down the corner of the corridor and gave Connor a passing glance. "Keep your eyes open, we don't know-"

A sudden painful 'thud' to the back of Hank's head dropped the senior detective forward in an unconscious heap as Hadish stepped out of the shadows of a blind corner. The dangerous man had used the butt of his gun to render Hank unconscious and was now pointing the barrel of that same gun right at the two detectives.

"Hank?" Connor rushed forward and fell to his knees beside Hank and pressed his right fingertips to the side of the unconscious human's neck to check for a pulse. It was still there, and Hank was still breathing. "Hank, can you hear me?"

"Fuckin' android." Hadish swore as he stepped forward and pointed his gun directly at the back of Connor's head. Short in height, scrawny in build and sporting thinning red hair with pale brown eyes, Hadish looked about as menacing as a wet chihuahua. "You pieces of plastic ruined this city."

"We had no say in our production." Connor refuted as he stood up slowly and raised his hands if to surrender as he turned around to face the armed human. All the while Connor glared at Hadish angrily as he put himself between Hadish and Hank laying prone on the floor. "Don't blame us because you humans are too greedy for your own good."

"Piece of shit! Don't you get smart with me!"

"My response only seems smart because your own statement is so foolish."

"You son of-" Hadish was enraged by Connor's bold comments. Aiming his gun at Connor's chest the short-tempered human opened fire without any provocation. "You need to learn your place!"

Three bullets cut through the air and landed in the center of Connor's chest without mercy. As blue blood showered out of his affected chest Connor fell to his knees and his head limply fell forward while his eyes remained open and stared blankly at the floor before him.

"...That's better. Quiet and ready to be scrapped."

With his blue eyes snapping open Hank regained consciousness just as the warm blue blood splashed down against the side of his face. Opening his eyes fully Hank saw Connor kneeling down on the floor just inches away with his back toward him. Thirium was seeping onto the brand new carpet all around him.

"C-Connor?!" Hank hurriedly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees as he grabbed onto Connor's limp shoulders. "Connor, talk to me!"

Next Hadish aimed his gun at Hank's face and he sneered viciously as Hank tilted Connor backward to hold the deviant in his arms. "You're just as bad as that thing. A traitor to your own kind."

Ignoring the madman with the gun Hank just focused on the motionless deviant in his palms. "Connor? Please snap out of it."

"You disgust me. You'd rather work with a machine than another person." Hadish spat angrily from where he stood. "How long until one of those machines takes your job entirely?"

Laying Connor down on the floor Hank used his fingers to close Connor's eyelids as he stood up and faced down the killer with an unspoken hatred shining in his blue eyes. "It's people like you that make these 'machines' more human than you could ever pretend to be, you worthless fuck! If you didn't already have a warrant for your arrest I'd kill you right now."

"I'm not going to prison." Hadish's finger hovered precariously over the trigger as he kept his focus on Hank. "I'll take you and every traitor cop in this city down first, and go down in a hail of bullets. I'll be remembered as a hero for all of humankind!"

"Then pull the damn trigger!" Hank taunted without hesitation as he felt a horrific rage and pain in his heart. "You already killed an officer, there's no way you're leaving this building alive. So why not go two for two?"

Chris and Gavin began rushing down the corridor at the sound of the commotion and spotted the stand-off in the distance. The additional two officers approaching from behind only seemed to seal Hadish's fate but it wasn't going to end without struggle.

Hadish was caught off guard by Hank's words as he saw the venom in Hank's blue eyes. With the gun shaking in his hand Hadish swallowed once and held his breath. "See you in Hell, asshole."

The sound of gunfire filled the corridor and red blood splashed along the walls and floor as three more shots resonated through the floor.

Hank stood in silent shock as Hadish fell to his knees, the gun dropping from his hand as he pressed both of his hands to his chest and clutched at his bleeding wounds. Falling backward onto the blood saturated floor Hadish stopped breathing as he bled out within a matter of seconds at Hank's feet.

"Holy..."

The bullets struck Hadish in the front of his chest, not from behind where Chris and Gavin were positioned. Hank hadn't taken aim and therefore couldn't have pulled the trigger.

Turning around to see who did pull the trigger Hank's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Connor?! What the..."

Connor's white dress shirt was stained dark blue with black smoldering marks that outlined the three bullet holes that had torn through his shirt. The unsightly stains were prominently on display like a macabre medal.

Connor lowered his gun, his red L.E.D. transitioning back to yellow as he returned the gun to the holster under his blazer. "I'm okay."

Chris and Gavin joined the two detectives gathered around Hadish's body and looked at the bloodied body on the floor in righteous confusion.

It was then Connor took a deep breath and emotionally steeled himself after coming to terms with the shooting he just committed. "Are you okay, Hank?" He asked the gruff Lieutenant in a somewhat shaking voice. "You took a severe blow to the head."

"Me?! What the fuck happened just now?!" Hank rushed over to Connor and put his hands over the bloody holes in Connor's chest as if to stem the bleeding wounds beneath. "Come on, we need to get you some help."

"I'm undamaged." Connor gently pushed Hank's hands away from his chest and flipped his black tie over his shoulder as he pulled open his Thirium soaked shirt to reveal the bulletproof vest he had slipped on before leaving the precinct. "The vest caught all three shots."

"But the blood-"

"Pouches of expired Thirium that had been set for disposal from the dispensary." Connor explained coolly as he showed the pouches strapped to his vest. "I knew Hadish would shoot me if he had the chance but wouldn't see me as a threat if he believed I had shutdown. Too theatrical?"

"You..." Angered, scared and relieved Hank slapped Connor across the face, causing the deviant's yellow L.E.D. to flash red, before Hank wrapped his arms around Connor in a tight hug. Connor's L.E.D. returned to yellow as he lightly patted Hank's shoulder and the senior detective let him go. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were going to do that?!"

"If I had informed you of my planned deception you may have changed your demeanor which could've caused Hadish to focus primarily on you as his target."

"You knew he'd hone in you and you were right."

"So did you. That's why you were so hesitant to let me gain any headway on the investigation or even lead the way down the corridor."

"Don't you ever do that again... Got it?" Hank swayed a little on his feet as he put his hand to the back of his aching head. Pulling his hand back he noted the smear of fresh red blood on his palm and swore again. "Fucker got me pretty good."

Connor grabbed onto Hank's arm to hold his injured partner steady on his feet.

From behind the two detectives Gavin cleared his throat as he hovered over Hadish with his gun still aimed. "Uh, you two get out of here. Me and Chris will take care of the scene. Good shooting, we saw the whole thing."

Nodding with appreciation Connor put his hand on Hank's shoulder to help guide the unsteady senior detective out of the building and back down the stairs in order to receive proper medical attention. "Come on, Hank. You need to see a doctor."

"It's just a bump." Hissing a little in pain Hank tried to downplay his injury. "I'll be fine."

"I know you will, but right now it's my turn to protect you." Connor insisted kindly as he helped Hank down the stairs to get outside. The blood soaking into Hank's hair indicated a laceration that would need some stitches and Hank was undoubtedly suffering from a mile concussion. "I'm sorry I gave you so much grief about being concerned for me. I now understand why you tried to keep me safe."

"Yeah, well, if you really want to help me out make that bulletproof vest a part of your normal uniform."

"Sorry, but the vest slows me down too much for my own comfort."

"Then at least keep it close by." Patting the vest on Connor's chest Hank tried to reach another compromise with his deviant and very stubborn son. "At least for my own peace of mind."

Remembering what Lucas said about compromise Connor had no problem accepting that simple suggestion. "That is an acceptable deal."

-next chapter-