A stand-off between the police and a gathering of the remaining violent anti-android gang members at an abandoned warehouse had resulted in a spray of bullets, blue blood, red blood, and demanding shouts from both sides to give up and surrender. Hank, Connor, Gavin and Tina were in the heart of the pointless conflict and found themselves caught in the crossfire after responding to a reported call of two deviants found dead in the warehouse. Unfortunately, the double homicide was also a ruse; a trap to isolate the police officers who were willing to handle cases regarding damaged or killed androids throughout the city. The four officers unintentionally sprung that trap and now needed to find a way to escape.

Trapped within the concrete and reinforced steel walls of the old building the quartet banded together to try to think of a solution to their potentially lethal predicament. Unable to leave the building or expect back-up to infiltrate the building to give them an advantage through greater numbers, the four detectives and officers had no choice but to hold their ground and fight back until assistance arrived.

"Son of a bitch!"

Hank swore as he ducked down behind a massive lead pipe jutting out of the ground of the warehouse. A deep crimson line of blood stained Hank's jeans over his right knee after a bullet grazed his leg with a painfully quick passing before becoming embedded in the wall several feet behind him.

"Connor," putting his hand over the wound Hank called out to the deviant ducking down a few feet from where he was hiding. "how many are out there?!"

"One moment." Connor's L.E.D. cycled in yellow rapidly as he cybernetically scanned the building from where he was crouched down to Hank's right while using a massive hydraulic press as a shield to protect himself from the bullets. "There are six active shooters on the premises. You and I are here on the ground floor while Gavin and Tina are on the catwalk above us attempting to get a clear shot of the surrounding assailants."

"Are the radios working?"

"Negative." Ending his cybernetic scan Connor returned his attention to the shooters and kept track of their every movement. "I'm detecting copious amounts of lead and magnetically charged metal fragments disrupting communication strewn about the walls, floors and surrounding pipes. My own scanner is struggling to function."

"Can you contact the precinct and call for back-up?"

"Negative. My cybernetic processors have been greatly stunted and can only scan our immediate area, no further."

"Shit."

There was a sharp yelp of pain from above as Tina let out a groan then immediately stifled it as she went for cover. Not long after Tina's unexpected cry of pain, an eruption of gunfire rained down on the shooters as evidently Gavin was not happy that his partner had been injured in the line of duty.

"I believe Officer Chen has been wounded." Connor acknowledged as he looked up to the catwalk above and ran another scan confirming fresh blood belonging to the officer was now presently dripping onto the surface of the catwalk above. A biometric analysis confirmed Tina's D.N.A. within the blood. "...And Gavin is pissed."

"Fuckin' hell. How bad is she hurt?"

"Unknown. She is still conscious, coherent and ambulatory."

"Can you get to her?" Hank asked as he peered around the large pipe and squeezed the trigger on his own gun twice to try to subdue the nearest gang member approaching with his own gun already drawn. It worked well enough to keep the shooter at bay, but he wouldn't stay back for long. "I need you to try to get to her!"

"I can make an attempt, yes."

"Then go!"

"Hank," motioning to the blood stain on Hank's leg Connor reminded his partner of his own condition. "you're wounded as well."

"I'll be fine, it's just a scratch. Go!" Hank shouted again as he reloaded his gun with a new clip and took aim around the pipe ready to squeeze the trigger once more as he prepared for the resulting firefight. "Check on Tina and Gavin. That's an order. Go!"

Reluctantly Connor nodded as he kept his head low and quickly darted to the metal staircase connecting the ground floor to the catwalk above. Holstering his weapon around his back and under his blazer to ensure his hands were free, Connor expertly dodged and ducked down behind other pieces of heavy machinery to protect himself from the screaming bullets that soared through the air all around him as he reached the top of the catwalk. He cybernetically scanned the area in search of the other two officers and struggled to pinpoint their exact location.

"Detective Reed? Officer Chen?"

"Over here, 'Tinman'."

Gavin was crouched down beside Tina with his gun aimed toward the large single door of the warehouse on the ground floor protectively. Meanwhile Tina's left hand was clutching at the bleeding wound in her right bicep. The two officers were concealed behind a massive stretch of thick metal pipes well out of sight from the encroaching gang members, but they were still in danger and Tina was in need of medical attention.

Despite the surrounding interference Connor's scanner identified the bullet still lodged in Tina's arm and wedged deep within the bone of her humerus.

"Tina?" Connor kept low as he joined the other two officers behind the pipe and knelt beside her. "Let me see your arm."

"I-It's not bad." Tina huffed as she steadied her breathing and dropped her blood covered palm from her wounded arm for Connor to examine. "It didn't hit anything vital. It just hurts like a motherfucker."

Connor gently put his hand around her injured arm for a closer inspection, readily agreeing that the wound wasn't immediately life threatening. Loosening the knot of his black tie Connor slipped the dressy garment free from around his neck and carefully wrapped it around Tina's arm to stem the bleeding and hold steady pressure over the injured limb until she could receive proper medical attention.

Gavin looked over at Tina and Connor for a brief second before returning his focus on the gang members below. "Where's the Lieutenant?"

"Below us. He too has been injured, but it's not critical." Connor explained coolly as he focused on supporting Tina's arm. "I must find an alternative way to contact the precinct for back-up. The walls and machinery within the warehouse are-"

"Whatever, man." Gavin impatiently cut off Connor mid sentence as he fired off another round at the nearest shooter, effectively striking them in the shoulder and dropping him to his knees. "Do what you gotta' do! Just get some more help out here!"

Nodding Connor checked Tina's gun and found it still adequately loaded. "Tina, can you get down to the ground floor with Hank?"

"Y-Yeah." In response to the pain and minor blood loss, Tina stammered a little as she steeled herself through the pain and made a move to get onto her knees then back up to her feet. Reclaiming her weapon Tina prepared to make a move and get to cover down on the ground floor. "No problem."

With Connor and Gavin watching her back Tina managed to crouch down low enough to avoid detection as she descended the metal staircase and joined Hank on the ground floor just below where she had been initially holding her ground. Ducking down behind the thick piece of piping and machinery to Hank's left, Tina found adequate cover and stayed put well out of the shooters line of sight.

"She's safe." Gavin noted as he resumed his own cover and eyed the gang members bitterly. "Whatever you gotta' do to get us some back-up, do it now. I only have one more clip left, and I don't wanna' use it unless it's entirely necessary."

Keeping low as well Connor backed away from the catwalk and eyed the large window of the warehouse behind him allowing full access to the world outside. As he began to check the locks on the window another bullet screamed through the air and pierced the glass next to Connor's hand drawing the deviant's attention back to the gunfire taking place on the ground floor below.

As he turned his gaze and his body, a second bullet embedded itself with burning pain in Connor's lower right chest causing a sickening spray of blue blood to erupt from his chest. The wounded deviant fell backward against the window and slid down to the floor in a graceless slump. Pressing his hand to his bleeding chest Connor ran a self-diagnostic to chronicle the severity of the damage he sustained while initiating his self-healing program to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.

"Shit! Connor!" Gavin grabbed onto the deviant's arm and pulled him away from the window and protectively behind the wall of pipes out of harm's way. Propping Connor up against the pipes in a sitting position Gavin got right in Connor's face and began shouting at him. "Don't you fuckin' die on me! I won't be responsible for this shit."

"I'm n-not in danger of imminent sh-shutdown." Connor pressed his hand firmer against the bleeding bullet wound in his chest and continued his self-diagnostic. The red glow of his L.E.D. pulsed in a rapid pace in tandem with his racing heart as he spoke in a calm, collected manner. "It missed my b-biocomponents and only nicked a few s-small Thirium lines. It looks w-worse than it is."

"I don't care about that shit; I just don't want you to die!"

The comment stunned Connor a little. As his brow knitted to together, he gave Gavin a serious glance matched only by his serious answer. "...I won't."

"Good! Now," Gavin knelt down beside Connor and pulled open the deviant's white dress shirt just enough to examine the wound beneath. "what do I have to do to keep you working?"

"I need..." Pausing for a moment Connor let out a slow breath and did his best to ignore the loud bullets being exchanged from the ground floor. The fact that Hank and Tina were both wounded and fighting back with minimal assistance hurt worse than any physical damage ever could. "The bullet n-needs to be removed. It's lodged inside th-the internal wall of my chest cavity."

"All right, fine. How do I do that?"

There was a pause before Connor asked an unsettling question. "...Do you h-have a knife?"

"A kni- Fuck..." Gavin reached to his belt where he kept a sharp hunting knife at his disposal just in case of an emergency. Pulling the blade from its leather sheath on the back of his belt he held it out toward Connor handle first. "How do I do this without killing you in the process?"

"It won't b-be pleasant." Connor took in a deep breath and held it as his yellow L.E.D. flickered quickly and his artificial skin receded from over his chest to expose the damaged white plastimetal frame beneath. Pressing his fingers down at his right side where his pectoral muscle would reside, Connor unlocked the panel covering his chest and slid it open for Gavin's ease of access to locate the offending bullet. "...I'll t-talk you through this."

"Aw, man! That's so gross..." Gavin complained as he saw the gush of blue blood seeping from the Thirium lines all around the bullet wound. "Nasty... Reminds me of seeing your guts when that bomb went off."

"I apologize, b-but there is little I can do to make m-my anatomy less unsettling for h-humans to view."

"Don't call it your 'anatomy'!" The massive grimace on Gavin's face was almost comical. "It freaks me out."

"Sorry." Connor placed his fingers carefully inside of his chest to push aside the surrounding Thirium lines and expose the casing of the bullet wedged firmly in his plastimetal frame for Gavin to see. It was lodged in the internal plastimetal frame of his chest cavity just to the right side of his right ventilation biocomponent - his right lung. "You n-need to pry out the bullet and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I can do that. Just... Just don't move."

Remaining perfectly still Connor watched as Gavin slowly reached his hands inside of his chest to hold back the lines and to pierce the tip of the sharp knife blade down against the side of the bullet. Applying steady pressure Gavin heard a metallic 'pop' and felt the bullet give under the knife. Retracting the knife and grabbing the bullet with his fingertips Gavin pulled it out of Connor's chest and dropped the Thirium coated projectile on the metal catwalk beside him with an echoing 'tink'.

"Got it..." The moment the bullet was out Gavin's Thirium coated hands began to shake with adrenaline and fear. Gavin sheathed his Thirium coated knife very carefully and waited for Connor to respond. "Well? Did it work?"

"Y-Yes." Connor confirmed as he pulled his bloodied hands from within his own chest and closed the panel, locking it in place. The artificial skin regenerated over the frame leaving only a small blue ring around where the bullet had entered his body upon being shot. "...Thank you."

Gavin rocked back a little on his heels and saw the Thirium still seeping through the bullet wound in Connor's chest. "Why're you still bleeding?"

"Numerous lines w-were damaged, it'll take some time before my self-healing program fully remedies a-and repairs..." Connor's eyes began to droop and his voice trailed off slowly as his red L.E.D. pulsed a little slower. "...before I'm f-fully f-functional."

"Hey, hey!" Gavin grabbed Connor by the shoulders and shook him as the cascade of bullets continued to ricochet around them throughout the warehouse in a deafening spray. "Stay awake! You need to fuckin' call for back-up!"

"I'm... I'm trying."

"Try harder damn it! You're hurt, Tina's hurt, Hank's hurt..." It seemed Gavin's attempted words of encouragement turned rather dark rather quickly. "Come on, we need you to get through to dispatch and get us some back-up!"

Connor forced his soulful brown eyes open and he leaned forward slightly from where he was sitting. "I need to... b-be outside. I can... I can s-send a cybernetic distress call once I'm outside th-the area."

"FUCK. All right, all right... Let me think."

Gavin looked back at the window that Connor had been trying to open and ran his hand over his stubble marred chin. They had little ammunition left and couldn't risk wasting any of their limited shots. Thinking quickly Gavin took his knife back from the sheath and turned the hilt of the blade outward to use as a blunt force instrument against the glass.

"Watch my back."

With a trembling hand Connor pulled his gun from his holster wrapped around his back and propped himself up on his knees to look over the pipes. Quietly and out of sight Connor cybernetically scanned the area for any sign of immediate danger. Below the catwalk he could see Hank still returning fire with Tina now safely at Hank's side as she too aimed her gun and fired whenever the dwindling strength in her injured arm would allow her to squeeze the trigger. The distinct 'crash' of glass breaking caught Connor's ear, but he didn't dare to turn away from the gang members who were trying to surround the outnumbered officers in the warehouse.

"Come on!" Gavin shouted as he grabbed Connor's shoulder and pulled him away from the pipe and toward the broken window. "Climb through, call for help, then get your ass back in here!"

Connor watched as Gavin reclaimed his position behind the pipes and proceeded to fire a single warning shot at a gang member who was getting dangerously close to Tina's position. The bullet struck the gang member in the foot and caused him to fall to the floor, dropping his gun in the process. The wounded man pulled his leg up to his chest and began applying pressure to his bleeding foot while shouting and cursing in righteous pain.

"That's one..." Gavin mumbled as Connor gracelessly stepped one leg over the bottom pain of the broken open window and balanced on the narrow ledge outside just far enough to get a proper signal. "Hurry up, we don't have much longer."

Mindful of the glass shards that littered the ledge Connor shifted his weight accordingly and slipped along the ledge with his back up against the exterior wall of the warehouse. Closing his eyes to focus his system into prioritizing the distress call over his self-healing program and visual processors, Connor felt his legs begin to buckle a little as the bleeding bullet wound continued to seep Thirium at a noticeable rate. Being up high wasn't helping matters considering he still had a distinct fear of heights that he was attempting to overcome.

"Come on..."

The deviant detective muttered to himself as if needing to psyche himself up.

"I just need a strong signal for two point four seconds."

Cybernetically Connor was able to break through the interference and send out the request for back-up in his briefly opened window of opportunity.

"...Done."

As the distress call finally went out Connor's red L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he received a confirmation on their location and a warning popped up in his visual processors indicating his much lower Thirium volume. As a wave of dizziness washed over him Connor felt himself stumbling forward uncontrollably and nearly lost his balance entirely when a strong hand reached through the window to grab him by his shoulder. The hand held tight and pulled him through the window and practically threw him onto the catwalk with an aggressive motion.

"I said to get your ass back in here!" Gavin shouted as he knelt over Connor and stared down at the stunned deviant. "What the fuck's wrong with you!? Didn't you hear me?"

"...St-Still bleeding."

"Fuck." Gavin saw the growing blue stain on Connor's still opened shirt and artificial skin, and reacted as he would with any human bleeding out. Pressing his hand down against Connor's chest Gavin kept his palm in place even when Connor jerked slightly in painful response to the applied pressure. "Hold still, damn it. I'm trying to help you."

In the distance the sound of approaching sirens was barely audible over the sound of gunshots still resonating through the warehouse as the gang members still tried to pin down Hank and Tina below. Police drones began to circle the warehouse to ensure that if the gang members tried to fun off that they wouldn't get far.

"I'll be okay." Connor insisted as he watched police drones circling around the building with flashing lights and sweeping over the area. "I just need a minute to-"

"Fuck that, I'm not leaving you alone. All right?"

"Pr-Protect Hank and Tina." Connor stated in a level voice to try to urge Gavin to focus elsewhere. There was no need to worry about Connor considering he wasn't in critical condition and was stable despite the persistent Thirium loss. "I'll be fine."

"They can protect themselves, it's you who always seems to get banged up while on the clock!"

Holding back his smirk Connor just dismissed the comment with a nonchalant respond. "That's not my intention."

"Yeah, well, it's a good thing you're not actually human. You would've been dead and buried on day one."

Connor wasn't sure if Gavin was speaking sincerely or sarcastically. As his self-healing program reengaged Connor felt his system begin to stabilize while the damaged Thirium lines were repaired sequentially. Pushing aside Gavin's hand Connor tried to sit up but Gavin wouldn't let him move.

With a firm push against Connor's shoulder Gavin kept the wounded deviant down. "Don't fuckin' move."

"I'm stable enough to-"

"I said, DON'T. MOVE."

"Why?"

"Because I said so!" There was a hint of actual concern in Gavin's voice as he tried to argue the obvious with the deviant. "Fuck, how does Hank put up with you?"

The sirens outside grew louder, and the gunfire finally ceased. As the additional police officers converged on the scene the gang members began to flee from the warehouse only to be pursued on foot by the dozen additional officers who were more than ready to protect the four officers who had been trapped inside the isolated building. The surrounding drones made the chase a lot easier as they followed after the fleeing men with great ease.

"Looks like we're finally in the clear."

Gavin holstered his gun and peered over the edge of the catwalk to look down at the ground floor. There was no sign of the gang members, only their dropped guns and some blood. Hank and Tina were safe and remained behind their cover as the other responding officers entered the warehouse.

"Don't move, help's here."

"I'm fine." Connor defiantly sat upright on the floor and pressed his hand over the healing bullet damage as the bleeding stopped entirely. His L.E.D. shifted back to blue as his system stabilized fully and he regained his balance after his gyroscope recalibrated. "I need to check on Hank and Tina."

"Whatever." Gavin saw that Connor had managed to get up despite the bullet wound to the chest and was rebuttoning his stained dress shirt to cover up his chest and hide the damage site. "Don't say I didn't tell you to stay down."

Annoyed and relieved at the same time Gavin begrudgingly walked down the metal staircase with Connor walking a few paces behind him. Reaching the ground floor the two detectives found their respective partners still behind the thick metal pipes. They were both sitting on the floor as they caught their breath and endured their painful wounds in silence.

As Gavin knelt down to check on Tina and ensure she wasn't in any danger from her injury, Connor did the same for Hank.

"How's your leg?" Connor ran a biometric scan over the injury on Hank's person and found the damage to be primarily subcutaneous. It didn't sever any major blood vessels or fracture any bones and would only need a proper cleaning before being damaged. "The bleeding has slowed considerably."

"I'm fine, but Tina needs to see a doctor." Hank caught something blue on Connor's shirt and knew something had happened to his deviant partner. The Lieutenant pulled open the stained fabric of Connor's gray blazer and eyed the massive Thirium stain over his stained white shirt. "What happened to you?"

"Bullet. Clean shot." Putting his hand on Hank's wounded knee Connor ran another biometric scan to make sure the senior detective's wound wasn't too critical. "It's already been removed, and my self-healing program has finally stopped the bleeding."

Hank wasn't entirely relaxed about his partner taking a bullet to the chest and asked him a rather logical follow-up question. "Do you need to go see a technician anyway? You shouldn't just brush off a bullet to the chest."

"No. All I require is a Thirium replenishment." Connor grabbed Hank's arm and pulled the limb around his shoulders to help Hank stand up and balance on his one good leg until his injured leg could be treated properly. "Lean on me, I'll help you get to a paramedic."

"Skip the paramedic, just take me to the nearest free clinic so I can get my leg stitched up and so we can file our damn report and then get the fuck home."

"You're certain?"

"Yeah. Besides," with a simple nod he motioned toward Tina sitting on the floor with Gavin hovering over her like the honorary big brother he had proclaimed himself to be. "Tina is hurting worse than I am. Let the paramedic focus on her and get her taken care of."

"Very well." Glancing over to where Tina was sitting Connor watched as Gavin hovered protectively over his downed partner and told the other officers of her condition and made sure her arm wasn't still bleeding too heavily. "Let's go to the clinic and then go home."


Unsurprisingly Connor had driven back home after he and Hank left the medical clinic and returned to the precinct to write their reports and explain everything regarding the incident to Captain Fowler. Wisely Connor had pulled the fabric of his blazer closed to conceal the lingering Thirium stain over his white dress shirt as to not draw any unwanted attention his way, while Hank did his best to avoid limping on his sore leg until they were outside of the precinct and officially off the clock. Neither wanted to fill out second reports or need medical or technical clearance just to do their jobs while they were sitting at their desks and waiting for their shifts to come to an end. The two detectives didn't want to have to handle any additional and unimportant work after such a strenuous day.

Helping Hank inside the house through the side door of the garage Connor sat the senior detective down at the kitchen table in one of the chairs to rest for a minute while he then let Sumo into the backyard and retrieve a bottle of Thirium from the cupboard over the sink to restore what he lost at the warehouse. The replenishment was immediately effective and gave Connor a sense of an energy burst that confirmed his full recovery.

"Is your leg still hurting?" Connor asked as he turned to look at his partner sitting at the table behind him. "You look uncomfortable."

"Yup." Hank admitted as he pressed his palm over the layer of thick white bandages that were wrapped around the freshly stitched wound and torn denim of his ruined jeans. A cold sensation against his arm drew his attention toward the source and realized that Connor was actually handing him a chilled beer to drink. "Beer? I thought I threw them all out."

"You did. However, I know that you can control your drinking and no longer have the compulsion to drink and harm yourself." Casually Connor twisted off the metal cap of the glass bottle and presented it to Hank to take for himself. "There's no harm in consuming only one beer to ease your pain and stress after a enduring such a tense and dangerous situation. I also fully trust you to remain in control yourself."

"Thanks, kid."

"You're welcome."

"How's your chest?" Hank accepted the drink and slowly sipped the beer. It seemed after being entirely sober for so many months the taste of the beer suddenly didn't taste nearly as palatable as Hank once remembered. "I bet it's still aching."

"It is sore." The deviant admitted with a small grimace. "Fortunately, the bullet missed everything vital, and Gavin was able to remove the bullet before-"

"Wait," Hank put the beer back down on the table and eyed Connor incredulously. "Gavin saved you?"

"Yes. Twice, actually."

"Twice?"

"The first time was with extracting the bullet," sitting down in the chair beside Hank as if it was a casual conversation Connor gave his friend and adoptive father a somewhat indifferent tilt of the head. "and the second was when I momentarily lost my balance and nearly fell from the second story window."

"Why?" Hank raised a hand defensively toward Connor as he gave the deviant a coy shrug of the shoulders. "No offense, it's just that Gavin doesn't like you. I can't imagine him willingly helping you out in such a way without anything to immediately benefit himself."

"Well..." Connor avoided mentioning the night he had aided Gavin when he was sick as he had sworn to Gavin to not speak of it. "Perhaps it was because I helped Tina when she had been unjured, and he knew that you were already injured on the ground floor. As a result, he knew he couldn't afford to let me shutdown and be left alone in a firefight."

"Maybe he just wanted an excuse to tear your chest open?"

"Possibly." A faint grin appeared on Connor's face as he understood the joke and wanted to keep Hank as calm as possible. "But he also saved me when I lost my balance and nearly fell from the warehouse window when I cybernetically called for help. If he truly enjoyed watching me be in pain, then he would've let me fall to the pavement below."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say Gavin is starting to come around. A little. It's kinda' like when you got caught in the building collapse and had been impaled by that metal rod; he was being nice to you then, too." Hank sipped at his beer again and shifted his weight to his leg to test his pain level. It was still tense but bearable to endure without any pain medication. "Maybe in time he'll stop referring to you as 'plastic'."

"That'd be nice, but I don't imagine that'll happen any time soon."

"Come on." Hank held out his arm so Connor could lean down and help him get back up to his feet and walk into the livingroom. "I want to catch the end of the game and forget about the pain in my leg for a few hours. The beer will help, but mind-numbing television will finish it off entirely."

"Agreed." Connor finished drinking down the Thirium and placed the now empty bottle in the recycling bin under the sink. Opening the backdoor, he let Sumo inside the kitchen then helped Hank get back to his feet. "Lean on me."

As the two detectives slowly walked into the livingroom Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow briefly as he received an update from the precinct.

"Tina is going to be fine. The doctor's extracted the bullet from her arm and there is no sign of permanent injury to her nerves or any muscle impairment." Such a positive prognosis made it easier for everyone to sit down and stop worrying. "No surgical intervention will be necessary, but she will be in a cast and relying on a support sling for the next six to eight weeks while her arm heals."

"That's good." Sincerely relieved Hank sighed as Connor helped him to sit down in the recliner and slowly propped his legs up on the chair's footrest in favor of the coffee table. The soft cushion felt great under his sore leg and the cold beer really took the edge off. "Nice to get some positive feedback every once in a while, huh, son?"

"Yes." The deviant agreed again while he slipped off his gray blazer and looked down at the slowly fading blue stain on his rebuttoned white dress shirt. Pressing his hand to his chest he took in a deep breath but failed to detect any pain beyond a dull ache or structural compromise. "It's a very nice change in light of our increasing negative line of work. Maybe it'll happen more frequently now that a majority of the anti-android gang members have been arrested."

"Sure. If someone like Gavin can change for the better, than anyone can." Turning on the television Hank found the game he was seeking and leaned back in the chair heavily to relax. "Remember that. Change can be good even if you're not ready for it."

"Are you referring to Captain Fowler's suggestion that I temporarily go to another precinct as a form of training?"

"In a way. Not sure why he's gonna' send you outta' town, but it couldn't hurt to travel."

"You still think it's a potentially bad idea despite it being beneficial to me, don't you?"

"Yup."

"May I ask why?"

"Because that other precinct is in another state and doesn't have a damn clue how much the Revolution really affected things. I just don't want to see all of your progress get stunted by some asshole who doesn't know what they're talking about or has a bigoted attitude that won't be addressed." Hank arched his brow as he gave Connor a knowing look. "If Gavin is still givin' ya' a hard time after everything that's happened, I can't imagine people who never foot inside Detroit would be any better."

"I understand your caution, but didn't you just state that people can change for the better?"

Laughing a little Hank admitted defeat and let out a weary sigh. "All right, you got me there. You did remember what I said, too."

"Of course I did. I trust your judgement."

"Good to know." It was a relief to hear Connor being so understanding. "And also remember you'll always have me and the rest of the precinct watching your back. You know that, right?"

"Yes. Today is proof enough of that."

"And remember to always give people the benefit of the doubt and try to keep the idea of change at the front of your mind." The words of wisdom were truly priceless coming from Hank considering his own past issues. "Don't let cynicism eat away at your soul."

"I assure you that I won't." Connor sat down on the couch and was met with Sumo's green fetch ball being dropped onto his lap by the loyal, fluffy dog. As he picked up the chew toy Connor thought about his first time meeting Hank and how much Hank's and his own personality and disposition changed for the better after the two really learned about each other and eventually became friends; became a small family. "I will keep an opened mind."

-next chapter-