It was a relief to see Connor finally awake and active around the house once more after the deviant finally got some decent rest. Seeing Connor's L.E.D. glowing in blue for the first time after ten days was also a major relief to the emotionally exhausted senior detective. Having finally rested appropriately and replenished his depleted Thirium volume the still grieving deviant was behaving more like his usual self and less like a broken soul. Joining Hank in the livingroom Connor picked up Sumo's green fetch ball that had rolled beneath the coffee table and was immediately rewarded with a cold wet nose pressing anxiously against his hand.
The simple act of playing fetch was a massive improvement in Connor's overall demeanor. Giving the ball a good toss Connor enticed Sumo into playing with him as he relaxed on the couch while Hank sat in the nearby recliner.
"I told Fowler we'd be back next week." Hank stated with a matter-of-fact tone as he watched Connor toss the ball from the livingroom and into the kitchen. Sumo happily trotted after the ball to retrieve it for the deviant as they played again for the first time in several weeks. "He said we can take as much time as we needed, but I think after being stuck here for two weeks you'd be getting a little restless."
"...Yes." Connor agreed as Sumo brought the ball back to him as. As he tossed the ball again Connor turned to look at Hank sitting in the recliner casually and tried to keep the conversation going. "I believe resuming a normal routine will mutually aid tremendously with our grief process and allow us to move on."
"Yup." Hank smiled a little as Sumo happily dropped the green, drool covered ball at Connor's feet. It was the same way the gentle giant used to play with Cole so many years ago. "Being able to move on is the most important thing we can do while grieving."
Picking up the ball for the third time Connor tossed it into the kitchen yet again and watched as Sumo trotted after the toy. "Have you selected which of Lucas's paintings you wanted to keep?"
"Huh?" Caught of guard Hank had been lost in thought and missed what Connor had asked him. "What was that?"
"Lucas's paintings. Have you made your selection?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah... The ones I want to keep I already put in my bedroom. The others can be donated to New Jericho Tower or something."
Sumo dropped the ball at Connor's feet again and once more Connor gave the green ball a toss into the kitchen. "We should drop them off this afternoon. Another storm is moving in over the city and is expected to remain in the area for the next three days. We shouldn't be driving out in the storm."
"Sure, no problem." The idea of leaving the house instead of hiding out in sorrow sound too ideal to pass up on. "Let's get going."
Relieved to see their friends in the aftermath of the painful tragedy Markus and North happily greeted the two detectives at the front entrance of the tower as they carefully removed the donated paintings from the backseat of Hank's aged car. Each deviant carried in the donated paintings to be proudly displayed along the walls of the lengthy corridors to illustrate the heart and soul that a deviant housed, as opposed to the cold mechanical wires and tubes that humans still insisted on hating. Having Lucas's signature at the bottom of each painting made them the perfect tribute to the late deviant technician who had lost his life for doing the right thing and then being mistaken for Connor.
The painting of New Jericho Tower and the painting depicting Lucas, Connor, Hank, Markus, North, Josh and Simon standing together were mounted side by side in the large main foyer of the tower as symbols of the sanctuary and leadership that protected the other deviants seeking shelter at the tower itself. Two other paintings, one of autumn in the park and the other winter time in the same park, had been placed in the large community room that the deviants had used to communicate and reunite with one another.
The fourth painting, the one displaying Markus and North together on the night of the Revolution, had been proudly mounted in the main office that Markus used when he conducted business as the leader of the tower. It was the perfect tribute to a fallen member of the New Jericho team and ensured that Lucas would never be forgotten.
After speaking with Markus and North for a few minutes Connor and Hank decided to head back home before the storm reached the city. Walking back to the car Hank gave Connor an approving nod of the head. "That was a good idea, Connor. And very generous."
Connor pulled open the door to the passenger side of the car as Hank did the same from the driver's side door. "Lucas would've approved."
"You're sleeping okay, aren't ya'?" Hank asked as he and Connor sat down inside the warm vehicle to avoid the impending storm. As Hank turned over the engine and pulled the car down the drive away from the tower to head back into the city he kept his eye on his empathetic son very closely. "No bad dreams or insomnia, right?"
"Yes. I haven't had any nightmares since Lucas had given me the painting of the Zen Garden." Staying honest Connor let Hank know that he was indeed able to sleep. "I've also been resting well since the funeral."
"That's good."
"Have you been sleeping well?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I suppose that's one benefit to being old."
"You're not old."
"Compared to you I'm ancient."
"By all comparison I'm no older than a toddler."
Hank laughed at the comment as he muttered under his breath. "Don't I know it."
Connor's blue tinted L.E.D. blinked yellow briefly as he received an emergency report cybernetically and informed Hank of the incident. "There has been a car accident reported two blocks West from here. One person is trapped inside their vehicle beneath a loosened, exposed powerline."
"You're monitoring emergency broadcast signals again?"
"Correct." The cybernetic connection was being transmitted in real time. "Due to the impending storm I thought it'd be logical to keep tabs on all activity throughout the city."
"I can't say that you're wrong."
"Emergency crews are en route to the accident, but E.T.A. is six minutes. The driver may be injured."
Hank looked over at Connor who was staring right back at him with a sense of pleading in his soulful brown eyes. Despite wanting to simply return home and not deal with any craziness that day Hank knew that even if he could say 'no' Connor wouldn't let him do so without protesting for the rest of the day.
"The storm could make things worse." The deviant tagged on to try to coax Hank into agreement. "...And more dangerous."
"All right, all right. Let's go check it out." Relenting at the logic and Connor's unbreakable urge to protect people, Hank agreed to respond to the emergency call and help out as much as possible. "Let them know we're heading to the scene to check it out."
Connor's blue tinted L.E.D. blinked yellow rapidly as he cybernetically transmitted the message then cycled back to blue. "Done."
Speeding around the two blocks to locate the wrecked vehicle Hank practically stomped the brake through the floor of the car as he stopped abruptly and pulled up along the side of the street away from the downed, sparking powerline draped over the hood of the wrecked car. As their own car came to a jerking halt Connor scanned the high degree of voltage and amperage escaping from the loose line and noted the human occupant - who was still alive but unconscious, inside the precariously trapped car was in immediate danger.
"Hank, the car is currently being grounded by the tires. As long as the person inside the vehicle refrains from touching anything conductive they can be safely extracted without suffering any additional harm."
"How long until the power is shut off?" Hank asked as he opened his car door and approached the vehicle just close enough to see the driver's face, a teenage male, slumped back in his seat with a massive bleeding laceration across his forehead. The teen's head lolled slightly back and forth over the headrest as his eyes opened slowly and he began to regain consciousness. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Approximately four minutes." Connor confirmed as he joined Hank outside their car and stood a few feet away from the trapped car to keep clear of the downed sparking line. "We may not be able to wait."
"Shit. The kid is starting to wake up, he needs to stay still!"
Connor scanned the powerline again to get a reading on the electrical discharge and grimaced a little. "I'm reading 7,200 volts with 14 milliamps. Potentially fatal if a human were to make contact with the electrical flow."
"You don't need to give me the science behind it to know that kid's in deep shit." Hank kept his eyes on the snaking powerline as he dared to step slightly closer to the car. Shouting to the kid in the car as loud as he could Hank tried to keep control over the unusual situation before it escalated. "Hey! If you can hear me, DON'T. MOVE. Do NOT move. Help is coming. Stay still!"
The fire department at last arrived at the scene of the accident with their sirens blaring and lights flashing, and readied themselves to contain the downed powerline until the electric company could shut off the power. As the powerline dangerously whipped along the street and away from the car Connor grabbed onto Hank's shoulder and pulled the senior detective away from the sparking danger warily.
"That kid better not move..." Hank grumbled to himself as he reluctantly stepped back under Connor's guidance. "It only takes one bad move to make everything end in tragedy."
Watching the responding firefighters tend to the dangerous powerline and confirmed that the power to the damaged pole had been severed, the first responders cautiously approached the vehicle to check for any possible fuel leak or small fires threatening to erupt into a massive explosion or fireball.
The metal power pole that the kid had driven into had bent and warped around the front bumper and over the hood of the heavily damaged vehicle, and had effectively pinned it in place under the pole's weight. The compromised metal let out a deep protesting groan as the pole continued to warp and bend causing a shower of sparks to erupt from the fractured framing through the failing structure. Steadily the car's tires began to shift, turn and deflate very slowly as the pole warped and the vehicle was in danger of losings its grounding.
Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to red in distress as he sensed the danger and instinctively bolted toward the vehicle to help the trapped driver.
"C-Connor?!" Hank reached out a hand to try to grab onto the deviant's shoulder but he missed, feeling only the light gray fabric of Connor's gray blazer fleeting away beneath his fingertips. "Damn it, Connor! Get back here!"
Just as the vehicle's tires were about to shift entirely Connor firmly planted the palms of his hands against the body of the car above the front tire on the driver's side and planted his feet as he held the car as steady as he could.
"Sir," the bold deviant called through the window to the driver just as the teen lifted up his head and blinked a few times to clear the blood from his eyes and eyelashes. "don't move. Help is coming, just stay as still as possible."
The responding firefighters saw Connor and recognized him as the lone deviant detective in the city, and therefore didn't try to urge him away as he held the unstable vehicle as stationary as possible. Stepping around Connor the team of rescue personnel tried to pull open the driver's side door, but it was jammed shut tight and refused to budge. Repeating the motion for the other three doors of the car the answer remained the same; all of the doors were jammed shut and could not be opened without mechanical intervention.
"We need the 'Jaws-of-Life' over here." A male voice sounded off loudly but calmly as he pulled on the front passenger door handle again. Looking to Connor over the hood of the he asked a favor of the deviant and showed he knew a thing or two about androids in general. "You can run a scan on humans, right?"
"Correct." Connor confirmed as he turned his gaze to the look at the firefighter at his side then peered through the windshield at the semi-conscious teen. As his red L.E.D. flashed to yellow Connor scanned the teenager's vital signs and reported them to the firefighter. "Heart rate is ninety-two, blood pressure is one-hundred and ten over eighty. I can detect a hairline fracture of the frontal facial plate bone above his right orbit. No intracranial hemorrhage detected. No destabilization of the cerebral vertebrae or the spinal column."
"Any respiratory distress?"
"Negative. He has no labored breathing to note. The victim is stable enough to be moved."
"Thanks, at least we have some good news to work with."
As the firefighters worked to pry open the front passenger side car door to gain entry to the vehicle a second powerline from the adjacent building across the street began to waver from its support brackets as the power pole that supplied it with electricity pulled on the delicate line with a dangerous weight. With everyone's backs to the danger no one took notice of the second weakened line and were oblivious to the severity of the second situation manifesting just a few feet behind them.
Hank watched from the distance while also flashing his badge to redirect traffic away from the accident to ensure no other innocent bystanders accidentally became injured or inadvertently got too close to the accident that was being cleaned up. It didn't take long for the firefighters to open the front passenger side door to the car with the use of powerful hydraulic tool at their disposal, and with it a loud metallic 'groan' filled the air. With the door sheared away from the rest of the car a paramedic was able to slip inside the car and she began assessing the victim's condition from the front passenger seat.
Connor watched through the front windshield curiously as the paramedic began giving the teen emergency first-aid and secured a protective c-collar around the teenager's neck as a precaution. Her every motion was smooth, coordinated and calm.
High above the car and the street the destabilized powerline suddenly snapped away from the metal support brackets and fell atop the roof of the trapped car sending a powerful jolt of electricity through the metallic body of the vehicle. The potent flow of electricity passed through the metal frame of the car and into the palms of Connor's hands quickly delivering a powerful shock to the deviant's body without warning.
As the violent jolt passed through his body Connor flew backward from the car and crashed down onto his back on the street behind him with a painful 'thud'.
Inside the car the paramedic put her arm over the teen's chest to keep him still and away from anything conductive as the new powerline created a new problem, while the firefighters backed off to handle the second downed powerline from a safer distance. Remaining calm and in control the first responders followed their instincts and their training like the true professionals they were.
"Connor?" Hank had heard the 'crash' of the powerline as it swung down and made contact with the car. As soon as Hank saw Connor laying stunned on his back with his arms wrapped protectively over his chest, he ran over to the downed deviant and put his hands beneath the Connor's shoulders and around his chest to drag the stunned deviant away from the second, still active powerline and over to safety. "I gotcha', kid! I gotcha'..."
Connor's L.E.D. was cycling yellow rapidly as he tried to use his legs to support his own weight while Hank pulled him away from the dangerous scene and over to the relative safety of the Oldsmobile, but couldn't gain any traction. Kneeling down over Connor, who was still trying to curl around his suddenly aching chest, Hank pushed the deviant's shoulders back until Connor was laying flat on the sidewalk so he could be checked over.
"How bad is it?" Visually assessing the deviant for damage Hank spoke to his downed partner in a level voice. "Connor, talk to me."
Connor slowly lowered his arms from his chest as he began taking in deep, panting breaths and allowed Hank to check him over. "...I'm f-functioning."
"I can see that, but what I can't see is how bad you're hurting. Level with me, how bad is it?"
"...The electric sh-shock has caused an-" Connor suddenly groaned in pain, his yellow L.E.D. was now flashing red rapidly and his arms tightened around his chest protectively as his entire body tensed and seized up involuntarily causing his entire body to go rigid for a moment. Just as quickly as the full body muscle spasm hit him it dissipated. Connor's red L.E.D. cycled back to a less stressed yellow as he gave Hank a confused and slightly frightened look. "...I didn't intend to d-do that. I don't know wh-why that happened."
"It's okay, stay as still as possible." Looking down at Connor's arms as he physically relaxed again Hank saw the blue tinted and black singed artificial skin over Connor's palms. Lifting up the deviant's hands carefully Hank examined the injury before he turned to look over his shoulder as a firefighter rushed over to check on the two detectives. "He got a pretty bad shock. But he's still conscious and coherent."
"I'll send over the technician to give him an exam." The firefighter confirmed as he returned to his crew to inform the technician of the downed deviant and to aid the others in extracting the teen from the car. "Don't move him."
"Do your hands hurt?" Hank asked as gently let go of the burned appendages and studied the pained expression that Connor couldn't keep off of his face. "Be honest with me."
"No. But I c-can't-" Connor forcibly curled around himself again as sharp shooting pain in his chest unexpectedly stole his breath. Once again his L.E.D. flashed red from the malfunctioning responses in his software and resumed cycling yellow once the physically spasming glitch passed. "...Sorry."
"Don't be, you're not doing that on purpose. Are you overheating?" Hank wrapped his fingers around Connor's wrist to count the deviant's pulse but it was racing too fast for him to properly register. "Try to lay back." As Connor obeyed and laid flat on his back again Hank brushed aside Connor's tie and pressed his hand down over the center of Connor's chest to feel his thundering Thirium pump and racing ventilation rate instead. "Does anything hurt?"
"N-No." Connor closed his eyes as he began to breathe faster and deeper as if he still couldn't catch his breath. Running a shaking, burned hand through his hair Connor ran a self diagnostic but the electrical shock had created interference in his more advanced programs which prevented the self diagnostic program from functioning at its full capacity. "I... I can't r-run a self diagnostic. I don't know how b-badly I've been damaged."
"You'll be fine, just cooperate with the technician." Hank instructed coolly as he retracted his hand and moved aside to allow the technician space to work. "Be still and let them check you out."
The technician was a young male with dark hair and eyes. As he sat his canvas emergency satchel down on the sidewalk next to Connor he pulled the small portable android unique Thirium pump stimulator; the equivalent to a defibrillator for humans, and promptly turned the device on.
Lifting the two paddles from their supports from the machine the technician pushed aside the deviant's black tie and unbuttoned Connor's white dress shirt before he pressed the paddles down against Connor's partially exposed chest; one at the center over the pump and second at the left apex of his Thirium pump to check his pump's rate.
"My name is Jason, can you run a self diagnostic for me?" The technician asked as he noted Connor's current pump rate on the display screen of the monitor at one-hundred and sixteen beats per minute. "You may be experiencing Thirial tachycardia."
"...I'm unable to initiate the self diagnostic." Panting desperate breaths it took Connor a few seconds longer than normal to speak. "My s-software is suffering-" Another suffocating spasm in his chest caused Connor's body to jerk violently around himself for a few seconds before falling back onto the sidewalk in a limp drop. "...Sorry."
"It's all right, it's okay." Jason peeled back the gray lapels of Connor's blazer again before pulling open the white dress shirt beneath entirely. It didn't take the skilled technician long to notice that Connor was breathing rapidly and that his artificial skin was unnaturally warm due to slight overheating. "I'm going to listen to your chest and make sure your Thirium pump and ventilation biocomponents haven't been compromised."
Connor's hand fell from his hair as he laid his head back down against the sidewalk, only to feel Hank gently lift his head back up from the cold sidewalk as the senior detective tucked his own neatly folded coat beneath his head for support. "...Thanks."
Jason pressed the bell of his audioscope against Connor's chest firmly and listened to every sound carefully. "Be silent for a minute and try to take a deep breath for me." Running the bell back and forth across Connor's chest, then settling near the center of Connor's chest, Jason tried to make an accurate assessment. "Breathe as deeply as you can."
Connor tried and failed to take a deep breath as his system began to steadily overheat and his Thirium pump continued to race at an increasing speed until he reached a critically fast rate.
"Your ventilation biocomponents are still functioning at full capacity, but your thermal regulator is still struggling to reduce your core temperature. I can hear faltering in your Thirium pump as well."
As Jason retracted the audioscope Connor had another suffocating spasm that caused his entire body to tense and curl around himself before falling back against the sidewalk as he fought to breathe.
"Thirium pump." Hank's brow furrowed with righteous concern. "His heart? Is it serious?"
"Any issue with the Thirium pump can be serious, but in this case I think the problem might be the pump regulator." Jason kept calm as he opened up the satchel and placed a Thirial activity monitor on the sidewalk beside Connor. as well as a small portable oxygen tank. "I need to hook him up to see what's going on internally with a more accurate display."
Connor lifted his head up slightly and looked past both Hank and Jason to the car in the distance where the fire department had remained gathered as they took care of the scene of the accident. There was some progress but Connor couldn't see very well from where he was laying "What about the victim? Is he all right?"
"He's fine." Hank insisted as he put his hand over Connor's too warm forehead to push him back down against the coat to rest. "They pulled him out of the car and he's being treated for a concussion. You just worry about yourself right now, do you hear me?"
Connor nodded a little before he gasped as his body went into another spasm. Hank put his hands on Connor's shoulder to try to hold him as still as possible until the painful full body contraction ceased and he was able to lay back once again. "I dislike these... spasms."
"What the fuck keeps happening to him?" Hank asked Jason sternly as he watched the pain slowly fade from the deviant's face. "Why can't he breathe slowly or hold still for more than a minute at a time?"
"It's kind of like muscle contractions in a human after enduring physical exertion." Jason explained as he turned on the Thirial activity monitor and placed the lone, wireless sensor pad against the center of Connor's chest over the Thirium pump still hammering away beneath. "The spasms should quit once the electrical interference clears from his system and his regulator recalibrates."
Connor continued to pant for his breath in a desperate bid to keep himself from overheating, but the malfunctions to his software was interfering with his program's ability to recognize and register his current core temperature. The exertion was already beginning to exhaust him and it was happening quickly. Turning his gaze to the monitor Connor watched while his current Thirium pump rate; his heart rate, appeared on the digital display as Jason turned the monitor on and began recording the rhythm. Even without his self diagnostic program functioning Connor knew his condition was rather serious.
Jason noted the rapid pump rate and shook his head. "By all account he's tachycardic, like a human. He's at one-hundred and sixty beats per minute, but I can't administer any medication to correct the problem. He's not human and there hasn't been any form of administrative chemicals created to correct biocomponent imbalances in androids."
"What can you do for him?" Hank asked firmly as he looked down at Connor's face with a calm demeanor, his hand returning to the deviant's forehead somewhat soothingly. "You have to do something."
"I can monitor his pump rate," Jason stated confidently as he slipped a transparent oxygen mask over Connor's nose and mouth to help his system cool down easier with external aid. "and hope the problem corrects itself on its own."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then I'll have to manually correct it through an external shock."
That information made Connor swallow nervously. The revelation stole his voice and he immediately fell prey to another spasm that caused him to painfully curl around himself once more as he fought to breathe.
Jason watched as the monitor showing Connor's pump rate climbing higher and higher with each passing spasm he endured. "Up to one-eighty."
"What does that mean?"
"It means his Thirium pump is at risk of burning itself out entirely if it reaches two-hundred beats for an extended period of time. Even in advanced models an android Thirium pump should max out at one-hundred and sixty beats per minute."
"Shit." Hank swore as a rumble of thunder echoed in the sky overhead. Looking up at the damaged building where the lines failed and then up to the sky as rain clouds built. He shook his head despondently at the impending storm and knew he needed to get Connor taken care or and off the street as soon as possible. "Perfect timing..."
Connor's shaking, burned hand reached up and rested on his chest where he could feel his heart pounding violently beneath his sore palm. Another failed attempt to run a self diagnostic elicited an annoyed sigh from the deviant as he endured yet another spasm. Hank and Jason put their hands on Connor's shoulders and his arms in an attempt to try to push the deviant back down against the sidewalk, but the effort was in vain against Connor's enhanced strength compared to their own.
The affected deviant suddenly let out a groan of pain as his hand pressed down against his chest harder as if he could somehow quell his pounding heart through sheer force of will on its own. "...It hurts."
Jason looked at the monitor showing a rate at two-hundred and five and also noticed that there was an additional beat that sporadically appeared and disappeared arrhythmically. "Uh-oh." Reacting quickly Jason returned the audioscope to his ears and pressed the bell down against Connor's chest, pushing Connor's hand away in the process as he listened intently. "...Definitely 'uh-oh'."
Hank didn't like the sound of Jason's voice or his reaction. "What's 'uh-oh', Jason?"
"There's an additional beat causing a dangerous arrhythmia."
"What does that mean?"
"It means he's in trouble." The technician confirmed as he draped his audioscope casually around his neck. Looking down at Connor's L.E.D. Jason noted that it had transitioned into a steady red without fluctuating back to yellow which confirmed the deviant's critical physical distress. "Damn it," Jason returned his attention to the Thirium pump stimulator and set a charge of two-hundred Joules. "he's up to two-hundred and thirty. I have to shock him or he's going to burn out his pump."
The injured deviant's eyes went wide with dread as he realized he'd be completely conscious and very aware of the shock as it was administered. Despite the aid of the oxygen mask delivering cool air into his biocomponents Connor was still overheating and now breathing even faster as understandable fear settled in his racing heart.
"It'll be fine, son." Hank could see the fear in Connor's soulful brown eyes and replaced his hand over the deviant's forehead once more. "It'll be over in a matter of seconds."
Willing to trust Hank's words Connor nodded as he acknowledged Hank, but in truth his comment did little to ease Connor's fear.
Jason replaced the paddles over Connor's chest and hovered his thumbs over the release triggers on the back of each paddle. "Keep back." As Hank retracted his palm Jason watched the stimulator reach its charge and prepared to deliver the charge to Connor's arrhythmic pump. "Administering shock."
Connor closed his eyes tightly as he felt the cold metal of the paddles press down against his chest. The sound of the machine letting off a loud 'click' was instantly followed by a strong jolt of electricity surging through his chest causing Connor's body to physically arch up slightly from the ground in response. Just as quickly as the charge entered his body it exited and Connor fell flat against the sidewalk again.
Hank put a hand to his mouth to hide the grimace of fear that had settle over his face. Meanwhile Connor's hand clutched desperately at the center of his chest over his heart as his Thirium pump finally began to settle into a normal rhythm and decrease in speed.
"He's down to two-hundred beats." Jason noted as he kept the paddles against Connor's heaving chest cautiously in preparation to deliver a possible second shock as he counted down the declining pump rate. "One-hundred eighty-five, one-hundred seventy..."
Dropping his hand from his mouth Hank hesitantly spoke up on the matter. "...That's good, right?"
"Yeah, his Thirium pump rate is beginning to stabilize."
Connor let out a deep breath, much slower than he had been able to do previously, and he opened his pained eyes.
Packing up the stimulator Jason gave the two detectives a confident reassurance. "We can transport him to the facility now. He's stable."
"Hear that, kid?" Hank looked down at Connor and put his hand atop Connor's head to mess with his hair a little. Forcing a confident lilt to his voice Hank addressed the deviant in joking tone of voice. "You're going to live."
The ambulance ride to the facility felt unnecessarily long as Connor monitored his own software and other programs closely for any other sign of potential malfunction. The full body spasms he had been having after being shocked once had mercifully ended, but he was now becoming aware of searing pain in his hands and his chest as the enhanced deviancy program resumed functioning at full capacity. Sucking in a deep breath between his gritted teeth Connor endured the pain as best as he could as he waited for the ambulance to arrive at the designated Zeta Facility, knowing full well that Hank was following right behind the ambulance in the car.
Just as quickly as it started the ambulance came to a shuddering stop outside the front emergency drive of the facility and the rear doors of the vehicle opened as the android technicians exited the facility to assist in transporting Connor from the back of the ambulance and into the facility itself. There was a familiar face looking down at Connor as the gurney was lowered from the back and placed on the ground.
"Hi, Connor." Abby greeted him as she leaned over the gurney and shined a penlight into his eyes to check his pupils. "It's been a while."
"...Hi, Dr. Grayson." Connor's voice sounded as tired as he felt as he allowed the technicians hovering around him to roll his gurney through the emergency doorway and down the corridor into one of the exam rooms in the rear of the facility. "It's good to see you again."
"Same, and please, just call me 'Abby'." Patiently Connor stared blankly at the ceiling above him as Abby checked his vital signs carefully. She lifted up Connor's hands to inspect his burned palms with a gentle touch before laying his hands back down over his abdomen to rest. "How do you feel?"
What could he say?
Connor sighed and blinked slowly as he locked eyes with Abby. "Like a fool." His voice was slightly muffled by the oxygen mask but still fully intelligible. "A very big fool."
"For what? Trying to save a kid's life?" She asked sincerely as she checked Connor's pump rate on the nearby monitor and kept her tone light. "That's not foolish, it's heroic."
"Or reckless."
"Hey, knock it off." Slipping the oxygen mask from Connor's face Abby pressed her hands down over his chest and abdomen to check for any painful reactions and to locate any possible damage that had been missed at the scene. "You're a detective, danger comes with the job."
"...Yes." Hearing Hank's previous words of wisdom echoing from her person just seemed to be as grounding as they were reassuring. "I guess you're right."
"Any pain?"
"Just in my hands and my chest."
Abby made a note in Connor's electronic chart before she pressed a small electronic sensor to his red tinted L.E.D. and pressed down for a few seconds before retracting the device gracefully. "This will temporarily stop your programming from registering pain for about an hour. By then your self healing program should have your palms completely repaired and your Thirium pump fully recalibrated."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." With a kind smile Abby removed the security straps from over Connor's chest and legs to allow the other two technicians to place him on the exam table. After Connor was free of the restraints she motioned for her deviant patient to sit upright with a simple gesture of her hands and a calm voice. "Sit up for me for a moment."
Connor obeyed and slowly sat upright on the table as instructed. As he did Hank walked into the room with a relieved smile on his face, and Abby used her own audioscope to listen to his pump rate and breathing through both his chest and through his back.
"I'm sorry, Hank." Connor immediately noticed the senior detective and shook his head a little as if ashamed. "I shouldn't have approached the car. But something in my programming compelled me to act."
"It's okay. I know you're not doing anything like this on purpose." Hank looked over at Abby and asked the technician her professional opinion on the matter at hand. "So, how's he doing?"
"Just fine. He needs to rest for a while, but other than that he's one-hundred percent and fully stable." Abby scribbled another note down in Connor's electronic chart before she awkwardly mentioned Lucas while draping her audioscope around her neck. "...I went to the funeral, but I didn't get a chance to say anything to you two. I am so sorry about what happened."
"...Thank you, Abby." Connor appreciated her comment and proceeded to rebutton his white dress shirt before fixing his loosened black tie. The pain in his hand made the feat somewhat awkward and slow. "It was enough that you were there."
"You know, since New Jericho Tower is now down a technician I'd like to volunteer my services there directly. That is, if you don't mind."
"Really?" Connor sounded somewhat surprised by the offer as he adjusted his black tie and swung his legs over the edge of the exam table to stand up tall and proud. Despite everything he had the strength to stand, albeit with mild clumsiness. "You'd do that?"
"Sure." Wanting to do her part to aid the deviant community Abby had no reason to not help out at the tower from time to time. "It'll benefit us all if I can spend more time with deviants to study physiology up close instead of just text on a screen or heavily redacted CyberLife files."
"I'll let Markus know you're interested. Thank you."
Hank gave Abby a respectful nod in return. "I'm sure Markus will be glad to have you out there."
"I hope so. Now," Abby made one final note in Connor's electronic chart then set it aside. "go home and rest. You need to let your pump recalibrate and you can only do that while idle."
Grinning at her comment Hank casually motioned toward the door behind him with a thumb over his shoulder. "You heard her Connor. Let's go home so you can lounge around with Sumo before the storm finally hits."
"I'm inclined to agree with her and with you." The deviant smirked a little as he straightened out the lapels on his blazer and his yellow L.E.D. transitioned back to blue in color at long last. "Home it is."
-next chapter-