"Twilight"
Detroit Central Precinct
The snowfall began to melt as autumn managed to push back wintertime for a few more precious weeks. The air was still icy cold and nearly unbearable to walk through as Detroit attempted to go about their daily activities, but the streets were finally clear, and the sidewalks were actually walkable once more. With the city cleared out and the people returning to their homes, their old jobs and their overall lives, a new energy began to flow through the Detroit that hadn't been felt in decades. It was an energy of renewed life and purpose. An energy that accompanied the ambitions and dreams of those who had the courage and willingness to take on a new challenge and succeed regardless of the obstacles in their way.
Wandering into the precinct with a new look and a new coat to keep him warm, Hank made his way over to his deck to clock-in and did his best to ignore the curious eyes of his colleagues staring at him with a somewhat shocked gaze. It had been far too long since Hank took pride in his appearance, and for many of the younger officers seeing Hank looking more like a respectable Lieutenant rather than a broken shell of a man was a rare treat. It seemed that there was more changing in the city beyond its laws and regulations.
Hank dropped into his seat and put his thermos down on his desk before clocking-in for his shift. As expected, there was a file already waiting for his assessment loaded up on his terminal screen that revolved around the unknown masked person who had caught the precinct's attention. The details on the masked vigilante were few and far between, but Hank had handled hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cases with only a few bits and pieces of evidence to work with and managed to close them properly.
With a heavy sigh Hank stared at the less than stellar evidence waiting for his review and tried to figure out where he should begin in order to make a strong start with his investigation. He had never had to track down a vigilante or anyone like a vigilante throughout his illustrious and often controversial career.
"Let's see... Do I use grainy still-image number one, or use just as grainy still-image number two?"
Neither image was particularly clear or useful for the man to use in any form.
"Choices, choices. How will I ever pick?"
"Hank?" Ben approached his old friend and put his hand to the man's shoulder. There was an amused smile on Ben's face as he used his free hand to mime stroking the non-existent beard along his own chin in a way that made Hank shake his head almost bashfully. "Man, you look like you stepped right out of the 20's with that nice goatee. What gives? Did ya' get that bored with your week off and decide to see if you still knew how to use a razor?"
"I just decided to shave, that's all." Passing off the remark as nothing special Hank just waved his hand as if to dismiss Ben from where he was standing. Running his fingertips over his own upper lip Hank pointed to Ben's face and arched his eyebrows in a knowing manner. "Maybe you should try it sometime. You might be able to remove that ugly gray caterpillar from under your nose."
"Ha, ha." Undeterred by the quip Ben remained by Hank's desk and kept up with the friendly banter. "So, what special assignment did Jeffrey stick you with?"
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with. In fact," leaning back in his chair Hank gave his old friend a terse glance as he managed to bring Ben up to speed without giving anything away or disobeying Captain Fowler's orders for discretion. "neither of my assignments are the concern of you or any other detective in this place."
"Oh, it's one of those assignments." Ben was quick to pick up on what Hank was subtly communicating and understood why he couldn't openly discuss anything. The seasoned investigator had been in the precinct for a long time and had unfortunately seen more than his fair share of internal investigations. "I don't envy you right now. Uh, it's not about me, right?"
"Nope."
"Good."
"Face it, Ben." Without missing his chance to give a good jab Hank made sure his friend knew he hadn't forgotten how to dish it out as well as he took it. "You're too much of a goody-two-shoes to even be a blip on I.A.'s radar. You're the Mary Poppins of Detroit."
"You say that like keeping my ass out of the fire's a bad thing."
"Oh, no. It's plenty good, just boring." Returning his focus to his terminal screen Hank looked at the grainy images and wondered if there was any way to clear up the footage for a more thorough and proper examination. That was something a little bit beyond his scope of capabilities and decided he'd need to find someone to help him out while also being entirely quiet about the entire investigation. "While I'm trying to figure this out maybe you can entertain me. What did I miss while I was gone?"
"The usual. Tina being her chipper self and keeping everyone from biting each other's heads off." Leaning against Hank's desk casually Ben brought his old friend up to speed on everything that the Lieutenant didn't personally witness during his time off from the precinct. "Chris came back from his own personal leave and is ready to go back out on patrol."
"Is Chris ready to come back?"
"Oh, yeah." It was instinctual for both Ben and Hank to look after the younger officers and make sure they didn't get overwhelmed by too much too soon. "He spoke with the 'shrink' and got the clear this morning, and he'll be back tonight for quiet night shift to ease him back into the flow of things."
"Good, I'd hate for a promising young officer to lose his career before it even began."
"Let's see, where was I... Oh! Sarah Lee asked to go back to graveyard shifts to avoid dealing with the massive return of people to the city, smart woman. Uh, Gavin's being a usual pain in the ass and is getting worse thanks to the deviants being seen as people. And as for Lance... His wife found out about his affair."
Hank rested his chin against his palm as he leaned his elbow on top of his desk casually and gave Ben a sly grin. "Which one?"
"Which- No..." The disappointment was thick in Ben's tone as he realized how much Lance had messed up his marriage. The bullpen knew that he wasn't being faithful to his wife, but it seemed Hank was the only one who knew how far his infidelity stretched. "I thought he just had his girlfriend."
"Yup. And his side piece when he wasn't spending time with his wife or taking his girlfriend on a date." Sharp as ever Hank brought Ben up to speed on the bullpen gossip despite being absent for a week's time. "That's the benefit of being seen as a quiet drunk who isn't paying attention to the world around him anymore. I hear everything that goes on when everyone thinks no one is listening. Let me guess, his girlfriend busted him when Lance refused to divorce his wife and run off into the sunset with 'Little Miss Jealous'."
"Bingo. I guess she thought Lance would run off with her into a new life once the city started evacuating." The big fiasco wasn't nearly as subtle as Lance would've hoped for considering how taboo and unethical his personal behavior had been. "Turns out he chose to stay behind and so did his wife... His girlfriend showed up here looking for Lance on day two of your hiatus, and she just so happened to show up when Holly stopped by to surprise Lance with a lunch date."
Such drama and emotional strain mixed with broken trust all led Hank to a single outcome regarding Lance's future. There wasn't a detective alive who couldn't see that impending trainwreck coming.
"When's the divorce?"
"Don't know." Ben shrugged his shoulders casually as they openly discussed such a private matter as if it was a tabloid headline. "Lance is out right now trying to make amends with Holly. Ten bucks says it's not gonna' work."
"Holly's too good for Lance anyway. No bet."
Tina made her way over to the desk where Hank and Ben were talking and quickly handed Ben a tablet to check over. "Hey, there's a body behind a hotel four blocks from here. Patrol's already at the scene keeping it sectioned off."
"Just what I wanted to start my day. A dead body left out in the cold." Accepting the tablet Ben began reading over the details and motioned for Tina to join him at the scene. "All right, Tina. It's your turn to learn how to cordon off a scene and shoo away the media. Hope you're not shy with telling people to mind their own business."
"Not all, I'm looking forward to it." Just as Tina was about to step away from the desks she noticed Hank's face and gave him an excited grin. The new look was apparently a big hit with everyone in the precinct. "Hey, lookin' good Lieutenant. You look young enough to be my grandpa!"
"And you look young enough to be put on twelve-hour swing-shifts for every weekend and holiday until I decide to retire."
"Understood." Still smirking to herself Tina went on her way and accompanied Ben to the crime scene as requested and called back to the Lieutenant in a playful mood to help keep the mood light. "It's good to have you back in the bullpen, Lieutenant. I missed you!"
"Uh-huh, sure ya' did..."
Staring at the images on his terminal screen for another five minutes didn't lead to any new details or evidence that Hank could use to try to deduce the identity of the masked vigilante that had been roaming the streets for the two nights immediately following the peaceful Revolution. It seemed that the vigilante hadn't been seen in the past week which made the trail grow cold. The vigilante was either done playing their game in the streets or they had found a way to completely avoid city security cameras recording the area.
"I'm gonna' need another set of eyes to check over these images if I'm going to even try to guess who I'm lookin' at."
Glancing about the bullpen provided Hank with little inspiration regarding his active investigation. The Lieutenant had grown used to working solo after so many years of stubbornly refusing to accept a new partner in the field, but after working alongside Connor for just over a week Hank was reminded of how handy it was to have a second set of eyes to check over everything he was examining to ensure that nothing was overlooked by mistake.
"I need an android's help, but the only android that I trust is long gone. Great timing for both of us too."
As he processed everything that had happened since meeting Connor, watching the world change how it spun after a single night courtesy of the Revolution, and of how life truly does go on even after tragedy strikes, Hank realized that he needed to find a way to change and adapt to the new world around him. Such changes and adaption would also mean Hank would need to look for assistance in places that he'd never think to look before.
Glancing at the terminal screen and then over to the phone sitting on the corner of his desk, Hank noted all of the names, departments and floors saved to his phone's memory and settled on one number to dial and ask for a little help. The dispensary on the second floor was new to the precinct, as was the young, green and bright technician hired on to tend to the android staff. Such new changes to the world certainly justified new changes to the ways detectives handle their new investigations, and that meant new insight from new personnel when it came to appropriate consultations.
"I may not have an android friend to ask for help anymore, but I do know of at least one android expert in the building who might be able to help in his own way."
Picking up the phone from the receiver Hank pressed the button to call the dispensary and held the phone to his ear. It has been so long since Hank had bothered to ask for help from anyone. Deep inside Hank wondered if even remembered how to ask for such a simple favor.
"Wonder if that Joel kid would be interested in earning some brownie points by checking through this footage for me. If anything, he'd at least be someone to talk to who won't ask about my damn goatee."
Downtown Detroit
The cold day was mostly quiet and uneventful as Connor took it upon himself to wander the thawing city streets to survey the damage after the mandatory evacuation order had been lifted. The deviant detective was wearing his jeans and the white dress shirt from his old CyberLife uniform, but now he had Hank's coat to keep him warm and the special boots to keep his footsteps silent as he roamed the city with a keen intrigue. It was unusually calm as Connor refamiliarized himself with the city on foot while taking in the renewed surroundings. While the city's overall design and structure were unchanged post-Revolution, there was a shift in dynamic regarding the treatment of deviants by the humans who still lived within the city itself. Just as the deviant androids would need time to adapt to all their changes, so would the humans who were used to always getting their way when pushing androids around.
The businesses were reopening steadily with a majority of the anti-android signs removed from the doors and windows. Many of the public charging ports and the exterior android 'parking areas' were being removed by appropriately trained city personnel. The CyberLife stores that had been broken into, looted, and vandalized were all closed down and soon to be replaced by a new android specialty company set to fill in everything CyberLife left behind.
Connor paid no mind to the lingering anti-android rhetoric in the city since he no longer needed to obey such discriminatory mandates. It didn't really matter anymore since the deviant detective had removed his L.E.D. and had such a unique design that he could easily pass as a human. The lack of fear in Connor's mind and his outward disposition was a fresh change considering he had endured too many doubts while on his way to deviancy and freedom.
Standing outside the entrance of one of the closed CyberLife stores, Connor looked at the barred off building with utter contempt. The way the company had profited off of his people and the necessary supplies for their survival was absolutely abhorrent. Shaking his head a little Connor took in a deep breath and spit at the secured door with raw disdain in the motion behind his response.
"It seems wrong to take relief in the failure of a company and the loss of thousands of jobs, but I don't care. CyberLife deserved to fail. Anyone who supported CyberLife deserves to fail as well."
During his stroll Connor noted that several old buildings that had been on the market for years at a time were finally being purchased and slated for renovation to become special emergency technical facilities to aid deviants in the near future. The facilities were similar to emergency medical clinics for ill or injured humans, and the facilities would be able to help countless deviants in need of proper care once fully trained and licensed technicians were hired on for their important roles.
The shift in dynamic regarding android-exclusive stores and repair centers gave Connor hope for the future of his people. In only a week's time the city had begun construction to accommodate the deviant population in a respectful manner. There was even talk of creating an android-exclusive apartment complex to keep deviants properly sheltered within the city without needing to worry about human neighbors harassing the deviant tenants. It'd give deviants the chance to coexist alongside humans without getting too close to them in the process.
As Connor continued on his stroll through the city, he took notice of the police drones hovering about the neighborhood and continuously monitored police dispatch via cybernetic link to ensure that he could slip out of sight in the event an officer who might recognize him could pass him by. It was important to remain entirely secretive in his personal mission and actions. If anyone recognized him then they would undoubtedly tell Hank that they saw someone who bore a striking resemblance to Connor roaming the city, and with that Hank would begin searching for the doppelganger to placate his own curiosity.
Thankfully, Connor was able to easily alter his appearance while out in the streets to avoid being immediately recognized. The deviant was able to lighten his hair into a sandy blond color, a stark contrast compared to his dark brunet color, and help him appear more human than ever before. He wouldn't be able to do anything about his eye color unless he chose to actively swap out his physical optical relay units whenever he wanted to venture out into the streets, but such an extreme alteration seemed to be more of a nuisance than an advantage. Connor had no problem seeing the world with his natural eyes whether it was day or night, and whether or not he had a mask over his face.
"The police are attempting to alter their patrols and protocols to adequately protect the deviants. I imagine that such a feat will prove to be very complicated to undertake."
Being unable to speak with his people directly or offer any assistance to the police department gave Connor a sense of uselessness that he greatly disdained. He knew what needed to be done and he knew how to do it, but with his decision to fake his death and live a life isolated from the rest of the world, he had barred himself from even attempting to speak up and help lead his people into a prosperous future of freedom and positive changes.
Continuing on his way Connor passed by the small diners and restaurants reopening in time to feed their hungry customers for the day. The way everyone tried to go back to their old routines as if nothing had happened was almost admirable. Many businesses were short-staffed due to the abundance of deviants who had vacated their previous roles as subservient machines due to a lack of pay, and that meant many humans were clamoring for a chance to interview for the now opened positions in the restaurants and stores.
"The deviants having their freedom means that humans will have the opportunity to seek employment once again. I wonder if the humans will be grateful for the sudden increase in employment rate, or if they'll conveniently look the other way at their own benefit from having androids freed from servitude with a misplaced sense of injustice."
As he continued his walk through the city Connor took in the sights and sounds of life returning to Detroit. There was still a lot of tension and resentment in the air that left the empathetic deviant detective wondering how long it'd take for the city to finally heal after such a historic and world changing night. While no human lives were lost or even threatened during Markus's peaceful Demonstration and the subsequent Revolution, many humans still took personal offense to having deviants change their way of life even if that change was for the betterment for all of Detroit.
Hart Plaza was still marred by the ugly scarring on the property courtesy of Agent Perkins hastily constructing the genocidal recycling camps to try and execute as many innocent deviants as possible. Such scars would fade over time, but the memories would remain as vivid and sickening as ever.
The discreet deviant detective managed to cybernetically map out the city and highlight any areas of interest that he'd want to monitor while out on his lengthy night patrols. Any locations that were going to be heavily android centric and surrounded by human centric areas were going to become a priority for Connor to monitor on each patrol. Even with a majority of the deviants now living on the secured isle within New Jericho Tower, there were still going to be hundreds of deviants who'd still need protection from the retaliation from embittered humans until every law and right caught up with the deviants to ensure everyone was properly protected in every legal sense of true justice.
"Construction on the new facilities will begin in four days..."
As he thought aloud to himself Connor carded his fingers through his temporarily blond hair to channel his nervous energy. He didn't have his old coin to flick back and forth to recalibrate his hand-eye coordination or give him something to fidget with, and in return he needed to find a new way to focus his tic without doing anything destructive to himself in the process.
"Saboteurs might attempt to prevent the facilities from being completed."
Preconstructing numerous outcomes of what could go wrong left Connor feeling a little overwhelmed regarding how difficult it'd be to actively monitor even small sections of the sprawling city while working entirely alone. He'd need to be very careful and swift if he was going to succeed in quietly watching over Detroit without anyone noticing his presence or recognizing him while roaming the dark city streets at night.
There were three facilities slated to open by spring but wouldn't have a lead technician to run them for quite some time. The largest of the three facilities was dubbed the 'Zeta Facility' and would be the first to open in March. Such a large and busy facility would require constant protection and monitoring to ensure that no one attempted anything catastrophically hostile toward the location, the building, or the personnel working inside.
"I'll come back here tonight and watch over the neighborhood. From here, I'll slowly branch out and expand my patrol area to ensure no one is overlooked or forgotten."
Staring up at the sectioned off construction site Connor read over the holographic banner that stated that the building was going to be the first emergency care facility for androids in all of Detroit. A faint reflection of Connor's altered appearance was barely visible on the shiny surface of the banner and with that reflection Connor felt himself longing to find his true purpose in the world now that he was free to make his own choices and had the right to become his own person.
Who that person was going to be was entirely up to Connor and the decisions he'd be making in the near future.
"I won't fail in my mission; I will protect this city. I will protect my people."
Detroit Central Precinct
The bullpen was humming with activity as the usual reports of rowdy neighbors, reckless drivers, drug dealers and domestic assaults glumly poured in via phone calls and anonymous tips. While the patrolling officers set about investigating the scenes of the reported calls and other officers interviewed witnesses to such reported calls, the detectives and investigators were handling far more pressing cases. There was already a flood of reports regarding 'red ice' distribution in the city, and a lot of threats being made against deviants who had the misfortune of running into resentful bigots in the streets. The sudden uptick in violence in the city had put the precinct on high alert and began to stretch the already thinned out roster even thinner to cover all the reports.
Without the androids to handle activity at the front desk, weed out false claims via phone calls, check out arguably less important calls, and monitor the parking garage, the human officers needed to work twice as hard to keep the city covered. There was only so much overtime that could be doled out to the human officers and detectives who volunteered to take up the extra hours and help keep things calm while they waited for the higher-ups to increase the payroll and hire on extra help.
Such chaotic issues prompted Hank to find a quiet space to work on his own assignments. Such an idea proved to be an excellent way to bring his unexpected yet willing partner up to speed on what was happening and why it needed to be kept quiet. It wasn't often that Hank had the fortune of training someone in the art of investigation when that particular someone wasn't a part of the roster to become an investigator of any kind.
"So..." Hank casually paced back and forth across the private meeting room with a cup of coffee in his hand as he watched the way Joel painstakingly cleared up the provided security footage on his laptop screen. The sharp-eyed Lieutenant could see Joel physically trembling where he was sitting and knew that he was making the young technician nervous just by being in his presence. "Find anything useful in that footage? Anything at all?"
Joel was quiet for a moment as he longed to return to the security of his dispensary where he wouldn't have to answer to anyone but himself in the event an assignment or mistake came his way. "Just a few cleared up screen stills that might help us figure out who your vigilante might be behind that mask."
"All right. Let me see 'em."
Nodding once Joel proceeded to bring up a still image from the footage taken from the harbor just a few yards from where Jericho had sunk into the water. The image was far clearer than it had been, but the lack of features on the blank white face left Hank feeling just as blank about a possible identity.
"Well, at least we can confirm that this vigilante is an android and is helping other androids, not stalking them." Sipping his coffee Hank turned to look out through the partially shut blinds of the window connecting the room to the corridor just to glare at Gavin as he skulked around the bullpen with an apple in his hand and a sneer on his face. "That eliminates one suspect out of a thousand others..."
"This might help us narrow down the potential androids who could be the vigilante." Highlighting a key feature on the white face of their nameless vigilante allowed Joel to showcase his knowledge and overall expertise on androids for Hank to use to his advantage. Pointing out the unique plastimetal frames along the face of the android helped to differentiate them from the other androids in the city. "Do you see these gray tinted frames along the chin, the jawline and the sides of the head?"
Hank just let out a small hum to confirm that he was paying attention and could see the two colors of the plastimetal frames. Despite seeing everything that Joel was telling him Hank didn't know what he was looking at.
"This is a unique trait that can only be found in prototype androids." Joel noted the frames and wrote down a few details in a notebook for Hank to use for future reference if he saw fit. "The gray frames are temporary plastimetal plates that are designed to be swapped out white frames once the prototype design is finalized."
"Okay, cool, cool... How many prototypes are running around the city right now?"
The young technician could only sigh as he gave Hank as much information as he could uncover. "That's hard for me to give you an exact number on."
"Then give me your best guess." The seasoned Lieutenant understood that Joel had a massive obstacle to overcome and wasn't going to fault him for being unable to give a flawless presentation when he didn't have all the information needed to give an educated answer. "It'll give us something to work with."
"I'd say there's approximately thirty to thirty-five prototypes active in Detroit." The estimation was fairly accurate considering Joel wasn't entirely familiar with CyberLife's entire android catalogue and roster of finalized designs that were released onto the market. The young technician left CyberLife several years prior and bailed entirely on the company when he saw how cruelly they experimented on the androids in their warehouses. "That may seem like a lot of suspects, but-"
"Actually, compared to the hundreds of thousands of human assholes running around Detroit right now, that number seems nice and small." Hank finished off his coffee with one big gulp and placed the emptied mug down on the table as he stood behind Joel with his arms crossed over his chest. Having a narrowed down suspect pool was a great step forward in his lengthy and intensive investigation. "Okay, can you give me a list of those prototypes so we can begin comparing facial features, height, build and all that other shit?"
"Yes... and no."
"Uh, how does that work?" Looking down Hank saw Joel was suddenly very tense and looked a little pale. If Hank didn't know any better, he'd think that Joel was trying to hide something from him. "How can you do something but not do something at the same time?"
Letting a small sigh Joel looked up at Hank and gave him a casual shrug of his shoulders. "I, uh, I can get you that list, but it'd require me to do something that a lot of detectives would be very upset with me for doing."
"And what's that?"
"...I'd have to hack into CyberLife's files."
"Oh. Is that all?"
"Y-Yes?" The way Hank was so casual about that particular response left Joel truly confused about everything he was doing. "Did the laws change while I was in school? Last I checked hacking into the secured files of a billion-dollar company was considered extremely illegal."
"The laws didn't exactly change, there's just a legal loophole that came into play regarding such activity in 2032. With CyberLife being defunct and not exactly in the best of graces with the authorities right now, no one's going to be too worried if someone digs up their dirty little secrets and gives them to the proper authorities. And with CyberLife essentially being linked to attempted genocide and a massive cover-up regarding a world altering event, no one's going to bat an eye if CyberLife's nasty secrets get exposed."
"I... find that very difficult to believe."
"Good. I'd prefer that you to remain as skeptical and untrustworthy as possible." With a casual pat to Joel's shoulder Hank walked around the chair and took a seat beside the young technician as Joel continued to write down some details in his notebook. The way the technician was able to type with one hand and write with perfect legibility with his other hand reminded Hank of the strange perfectionism found mostly in androids. "Before you get me that list of prototypes, can you tell me anything you've found in this footage that I could use for my investigation?"
"Well, from the cleared-up images in the second recording, I can give you a rough estimate of the vigilante's body type and height." Highlighting the images on the screen Joel managed to showcase a few more key details that Hank might be able to use in his hunt for the masked vigilante. "We're looking for an android at the common six-foot height and the average masculine athletic build. Their complexion is Caucasian, but I can't see their hair color or eye color clearly thanks to the hood obstructing their facial features."
"So we're looking for an average white male. How remarkable..."
"Sorry, Lieutenant. If we can get a better look-"
"Don't apologize, Joel. You've been a great help." Leaning back in his chair Hank mentally took notes on the masked vigilante and tried to figure out a way to eliminate his already shrinking list of suspects into something more substantial to work with. "We now have a few details we can work with, that's a good start. Do those details eliminate the probable prototypes roaming the city who fit this particular suspect's description?"
"I won't know that for sure until I have that CyberLife list of prototypes uncovered."
"Cool. Get that list of prototypes printed off with images of the prototypes so we can begin a process of elimination." Getting up to his feet Hank decided to stretch out his sore back and head out on patrol to ensure that the younger, less experienced officers didn't get overwhelmed by a suddenly repopulated city by mistake. It'd also give him the chance to either clear Gavin of all suspicion regarding Connor's murder or confirm him as the killer and bring Connor justice. "When you're done, text me and I'll let Fowler know so we can have a private meeting to discuss this mess."
"Sure, yeah, okay." Running his fingers through his thick hair Joel watched as Hank took his leave of the meeting room to head out to the bullpen again. "It's going to take me several hours to get through CyberLife's security walls. What're you going to do in the meantime?"
"Handle another assignment." As the door slid open Hank gave Joel a surprisingly reassuring grin before taking his leave. "Don't worry, I'll leave the android related stuff to you. You're the expert on that kind of thing, not me. I'm the one who finds killers and brings 'em to justice."
Future Site of the Zeta Facility
The sun had set hours prior, and Connor had begun his nightly patrol around the city after gearing up and mapping out his selected area for patrol. In the week since he had been forced into emergency stasis mode many things had changed. There were far more people to watch out for and far more reasons to protect the deviants throughout all of Detroit. During the day during his stroll around the neighborhood Connor had sensed heavy emotions building up all around the city, and he had watched several progressive changes take place with his own eyes. Such changes should've been reassuring to watch, but Connor knew far better than to just take everything at face value. The deviant detective was unwilling to let down his guard or take any chances while taking on such a heavy burden by himself in an unpredictable and dangerous city.
Remaining out of sight and using the darkness to his advantage, Connor remained unseen on the rooftop of the vacant three-story building neighboring the facility construction site to ensure that no one attempted to do anything foolish that'd sabotage the impending renovations. There was something in the air that was prompting Connor to keep a close eye on that particular property, and it was something that Connor was willing to consider a gut instinct. Fortunately, the coffee shop across the street had a personal security camera pointed directly at the construction site to ensure that in the event anything happened that'd require a more direct police investigation.
With his eyes closed Connor was able to send out a large cybernetic ping to monitor the area and keep track of all activity in the immediate vicinity. There was only a small flurry of activity in the area that was indicative of organic life. Several birds were sleeping in the trees in the park several blocks away, four stray cats were skulking the alleys around the building, a stray dog was roaming the park and only a handful of people were still in the area now that the average workday had come to an end.
Looking down at sidewalk Connor watched as a young couple held hands, laughed and walked off into the city together and envied their ability to just be themselves without needing to worry about being harassed just for existing. A part of him wondered if he'd ever have such an experience in his own life, but another part of him knew that as a rogue deviant who faked his own death that he'd never have any such common, normal or emotional experiences to learn and grow from.
The glow of the cybernetic banner helped illuminate the area without being a blindly eyesore in the process. It was nice to have such a warm glow to help stave off the sense of cold hanging in the air while roaming the dark city by himself. Being surrounded by light day and night was an unexpected perk to hiding out in a lighthouse on Belle Isle throughout the day until nightfall.
"Over here, man..."
A gruff voice caught Connor's ear and drew his attention from the sidewalk and toward the large, dark parking lot behind the construction site. Four men of varying builds, ages and races were all congregating together behind the construction site with two large dufflebags being shared between them. The bags were large, full and very heavy based on the way the handles were strained in the grips of the two largest men.
"This is the spot." The same voice spoke up as he directed his three companions to the back of the construction site. The two heavy dufflebags were dropped onto the broken blacktop of the parking lot with a metallic clatter and the four men squatted down to gather around the large parcels. "This is where those machine-fuckers are going to build a place to keep them all up and running around for as long as possible. We ain't gonna' stand for that."
That's all Connor needed to hear to know that the four men were going to do just as he feared and were planning on damaging the construction site. Making his way to the edge of the rooftop resulted in Connor feeling a little dizzy courtesy of the notable height in which he was perched. It seemed his acrophobia was going to be a bit of a problem if he continued to use elevated perches and landscapes to his advantage as he watched over the city at night.
While Connor used the nearby fire escape ladder to descend to the ground, the quartet of vandals continued to discuss their impending plan of action together.
"There's a gas main over here." The first voice noted loudly as he continued to direct the group's activity for the night. "We need to bust it up and get a nice, steady leak goin'."
As the man spoke to his three friends none of the group took notice of Connor creeping along in the shadows and encroaching on them with swift, silent steps. The deviant detective was a master of stealth and was determined to prevent the four men from attacking the site or doing anything else dangerous or destructive to anything deviant related.
"We let the gas leak," the ringleader of the four stated calmly as he pulled a large tire iron from the dufflebag and held it in a strong, calloused grip. "then we ignite it and watch this piece of shit burn. It won't take long for a cheap place like this to catch fire and burn to the rubble that it's worth."
From the shadows Connor performed four facial recognition scans and got four distinct profiles, but only one criminal record came up. The man calling all of the shots was John Woldroon, age forty-one. He had a record confirming a history of arson and insurance fraud. Tall, muscular, Caucasian and from a well-to-do family gave Woldroon an ego that left him dangerously arrogant, rich and unpredictable.
The other three men had no criminal records to speak of whatsoever. The second man was barely a man at that; Martin Grenadine was only eighteen years old, a high school senior and an employee at the local movie theater. The young man was black, well-built from years of football but far from intimidating in stature. The third man was Albert Forsythe, aged twenty-two and a skilled mechanic. Albert was strong in build, had a light complexion and a nervous demeanor about him. The fourth and final man was Gerome Hampton, aged twenty-four, black and an aspiring artist. Like his less criminally active colleague, Gerome seemed anxious and by all account didn't want to be there that night.
There wasn't any reason for any of the four men to do what they were going to do beyond selfish and paranoid retaliation. Woldroon had plenty of money courtesy of his family estate despite his criminal record. Grenadine was on his way to a sports scholarship thanks to his athletic skills and good grades. Forsythe was employed at a highly reputable garage in the city and had steady work. And Hampton had earned his bachelor's in arts and was in line to become a teacher at a highly prestigious high school in the coming spring.
Watching the four men carefully Connor waited for them to make a move to justify his intervention. He couldn't risk doing anything that'd result in his behavior being seen as aggressive or even criminal. It pained him to know that he couldn't take any preventative measures to stop the crime in progress since he couldn't give any witness statements to the police to justify his actions.
"Follow me." Woldroon ordered as he brandished his tire iron with a sick glee on his face. "We're gonna' remind the machines where they stand!"
The other three men hesitated where they stood. No one made a move for the other tools in the dufflebags as they exchanged petrified glances. The trio were able to communicate their mutual feelings without needing to say a single world. They didn't want to do anything extreme like Woldroon was insisting, but they weren't sure how to say it without getting attacked by Woldroon in response.
"Why do we need to do this?" Forsythe finally asked as he backed away from the bag and gave Woldroon a very skeptical glance. "I mean, the androids already won. What's torching one building going to do? It'll just get our asses locked up."
"We're doing this so we can take a stand!" Snarling his response made Woldroon look like a rabid Pitbull tucking at his leash. "We need to fight back in any way that we can!"
Grenadine shook his head and raised his hands submissively as he too backed away from the dufflebags as he realized how foolish they were behaving. "No way, man. You said we were going to do something that'd help our city, but this is stupid! I'm not going to jail over a stupid building, I'm out!"
Scoffing loudly Woldroon tried to intimidate the high schooler into sticking around and going through with their violent protest. "You're out? Just like that?"
"Yeah, man. Just like that." Turning around Grenadine decided to leave the area before he did something he'd regret and something that'd follow him for the rest of his life. "Lose my number, I don't want to take any extra work from you, I don't care how much you offer!"
Hampton agreed and jogged after Grenadine to leave the parking lot before they did anything monumentally stupid as well. "Wait up, Marty! I'm going with you."
From where he was crouched in the darkness Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing two of the four men leaving the area and not doing anything destructive or malicious gave him hope that not all of the humans in the city were going to be out for revenge or want to retaliate against the deviants for succeeding in earning their rights and freedom as individual, feeling and thinking people.
"What about you?" Woldroon shouted as he glared venomously at Forsythe as the man made his own decision about their potential criminal plan of action. "You gonna' pussy-out on me too?"
"I'm choosing my future over your little pissing contest." Backing out as well Forsythe proceeded to jog out of the parking lot and join his other two colleagues before they got too far away. "You want to spend your life behind bars, go for it! I choose freedom."
The sight of the three men wising up and backing out of the arrangement gave Connor hope that not all humans were going to be violent and ill willed toward the deviants in the future. Not all of the humans were as egotistical, dangerous or impulsive as Connor and the other deviants had feared.
"Fuckin' fine. FINE! I'll do it myself, you fucking COWARDS!"
Spitting in anger Woldroon proceeded to march over to the large pipe with the flowing gas with every intention of using his tire iron to physically damage the pipe to cause a large leak. Once the damage was done all it'd take was one little spark or open flame to cause an ignition and potential explosion. Such an explosion wouldn't only damage the site of the building, but it'd send dangerous debris raining down in all directions that could hurt countless people or worse, cause a chain reaction within all the connected gas lines that'd make the entire block burst into flame.
Connor knew he couldn't wait much longer and cybernetically sent in another anonymous tip to the police regarding the incident about to take place. Rushing up behind Woldroon without making a sound, Connor managed to grab on to the tire iron in the man's grip and pull back hard enough to rip the tool from Woldroon's hand in a single swift motion.
"H-Hey!" Turning around quickly Woldroon reeled back his fist to throw a punch, then froze at the sight of the masked man wearing all black with a hood pulled up and over their hair glaring at him. "Who the fuck are you!?"
Silently Connor stood his ground and kept himself planted between Woldroon and his dufflebags still full of numerous tools and makeshift weapons. The deviant wasn't going to take any chances and turn his back on the deranged human even while he was disarmed.
"Piece of shit... You're an android, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?!"
Wisely Connor stepped back from Woldroon and never peeled his eyes from the man's intense face. Using every precaution, Connor refused to turn his back on the dangerous human. All it'd take was one second of Connor letting his guard down for the violent human to get the jump on him and cause serious damage. Meanwhile, the cybernetic connection to police dispatch allowed Connor to keep tabs on when patrol would arrive while police drones began circling overhead without needing to look away from the dangerous human. As long as Connor was able to keep himself from getting harmed and was able to keep the erratic human from running off and disappearing into the night, then Connor could call his personal patrol a success.
"You're not going to stop me from taking back control of the city!"
There was a fiery ambition behind Woldroon's words. It was unfortunate that he was choosing to exercise such ambition and energy toward something destructive rather than constructive.
"I swear that I'll make you and your kind pay for everything you've done! That's a guaran-damn-tee!"
Moving smoothly Connor sidestepped Woldroon's clumsy fist as the man swung an angrily toward Connor's face. Connor was able to easily navigate the man's graceless moves without needing to preconstruct a single second of the enraged man's erratic behavior. It didn't take long for the police drones to circle overhead and begin recording the altercation with their red and blue lights flashing rapidly.
Only when the lights began to flash did Woldroon stop swinging at Connor and realize that he was in trouble. In the distance sirens began scream and the man knew that the cops were on their way to handle the situation in a more official manner. His time was running out and that only made him twice as angry as before.
"You piece of shit!"
Woldroon shoved past Connor and managed to reach into one of the opened dufflebags to retrieve a new weapon despite Connor's efforts to keep him unarmed. After he grabbed a crowbar Woldroon began swinging wildly at Connor again in a desperate bid to damage the deviant before making a getaway from the scene of the reported incident.
Using his arms Connor managed to block the crowbar from striking him in the face with relative ease and only felt marginal pain in his limbs courtesy of his new enhancements and the Kevlar shirt protecting his body. It didn't take long for Connor to physically exhaust the man and find an opening to take him down and keep him subdued until the police arrived to arrest him and take him into custody. It was pathetically easy to find a way to take down such an enraged human who refused to find an honest way through life.
With a single kick to the back of the man's knees Connor swept Woldroon's legs out from beneath him and dropped him to the ground in a matter of seconds. As Woldroon fell backward in a graceless heap he lost his grip on the crowbar and banged his head on the hard asphalt surface. The blow to the back Woldroon's head had left him dazed but still conscious as the police encroached on the area.
Rushing quickly Connor kicked the crowbar from Woldroon's hand and vanished back into the darkness of the nearby alleyway just as the patrol car arrived in the parking lot to check over the area. The stealthy deviant knew that the responding officers would be able to deduce what Woldroon had been attempting to do and would take him into custody for the night to ensure that he didn't try to burn the site to ash.
"Come over here!" Chris called out as he and Sarah Lee made it to the parking lot and approached Woldroon carefully. The anonymous tip provided by Connor stated that a man with two dufflebags full of tools had been staking out the construction site, and that he seemed aggressive in nature. "Found someone. Looks like he took a nasty fall."
"Matches the description from out tipster." Sarah Lee noted as she hovered her hand over the gun holstered to her hip and shined her light over his face. The details of Connor's tip had been anonymous yet meticulously chronicled to ensure the cops could easily identify the suspect upon arrival. "Drunk?"
"Not sure yet. Let's ask him."
"Sure, that's the best part of the job." Crouching down Sarah Lee pressed her fingertips to the side of Woldroon's neck for a pulse check before she and Chris even tried to interrogate the man. "How fluent are you in 'drunken-ese'?"
Satisfied that Woldroon would be arrested and have his plan effectively destroyed, his head injury checked out and be taken off the streets for the night, Connor went on his way and began another patrol in the shadows. It wouldn't take him too long to find a new location to monitor during the night considering how few deviant unique locations in the city had been officially recognized and designated by the city itself.
As Connor set about roaming the city using the shadows and alleyways for his cover, he noted the damage to his forearms through the digital screen installed on his left forearm. The screen showed a faint yellow hue along the forearms of the small image of the blue humanoid figure on the screen that was synched directly to Connor's system. The yellow coloration indicated mild damage to his arms that'd heal quickly and confirmed that Connor didn't need to worry about fractures or seek a technician's care for his mild damage.
"That's twice where I've been assaulted with a weapon, and twice where I was unable to keep the assailant unarmed during the entirety of the struggle."
Flexing his hands a few times at his sides confirmed that the deviant's arms weren't permanently damaged and would make a full recovery. He still had full range of motion, strength and dexterity to keep himself safe during his nightly patrol.
"I need to find a way to keep myself safe while out on patrol. I won't carry a gun or any other weapon that could cause serious, if not fatal, injuries to anyone who attempts to physically assault me."
Looking down at his palms Connor noted that his enhanced reflexes and strength would give him a massive advantage in hand-to-hand combat if he ever needed to physically engage in another struggle. He knew he could handle himself and do whatever was necessary in order to keep himself safe without having to seriously hurt or kill another person in the process. In order to do so, he'd just need to get a little creative and resourceful in order to find the perfect weapon to defend himself without going over the top or being too aggressive in the process.
"Perhaps CyberLife technology can provide me with one last helping hand before they're nothing more than a bad memory and a stain in the history of deviantkind."
Detroit Central Precinct
What had started out as a calm night turned into something far more energetic as the report of an angry human being attacked and subdued by the masked deviant filtered through dispatch. The investigation into the masked vigilante's identity suddenly became Hank's keen interest after spending the afternoon and evening on patrol without being able to prove one way or another that Gavin was a dirty cop who needed to be removed from the precinct. The dedicated Lieutenant had poured hours of his time, energy and resources into trying to trace any illegal or unscrupulous activity to Gavin, but he hadn't been able to find anything definitive or even theoretical to use against the brash, abrasive and unprofessional detective. For most detectives that'd be a good sign, but for Hank he saw it as another obstacle that he'd need to overcome.
Trudging toward the quiet meeting room where Joel was already setting up a makeshift presentation for both Hank and Captain Fowler to review, Hank sighed and tried to mentally gauge what kind of mess that he was about to walk into. The Lieutenant wasn't used to having to deal with such conflicting yet equally pressing matters at a single given time, especially while working without an official partner in any capacity.
The door to the meeting room slid open as Hank stepped inside the dimly lit space and saw the bright images being projected on the far wall of the room. The images were the cleared-up stills that Joel had produced earlier that day, as well as a photographic list of the known prototype android models still roaming Detroit. Just as Hank had asked, Joel had begun the process of elimination to help narrow down the potential identity of the masked vigilante.
"I heard Miller and Person brought in a suspect who had a run-in with our masked pain in the ass." Hank stated tersely as he closed the door behind him and sealed it to ensure only personnel with top credentials could enter the room during the unusual and delicate meeting to take part in any discussion. "The guy said he was trying to change a tire and got jumped, but the security footage across the street from that little coffee shop says otherwise. Fucker had three other friends who decided to bail on him before he got jumped. Guess they decided that if their 'friend' needed two entire dufflebags full of tools to change one tire that it just wasn't worth all the strain and effort."
"Is he sticking to that story?"
"For now. I imagine that he'll come up with a fantastic new tale once his lawyer shows up and helps him twist his reality into a new direction." Eyeing the opened laptop while Joel finished setting things up, Hank sighed and turned to Captain Fowler with a sense of mild interest about their current investigation. "Did you get the chance to see the security footage yet? Specifically, the part with the masked vigilante dropping that idiot with one kick?"
"We just finished reviewing the footage before you came in." Captain Fowler confirmed as he waved Hank over to take the seat beside him. The astute Captain was also watching Joel set up his projector and the laptop to ensure all of the visual evidence was properly chronicled and could be filed appropriately. "There might be a little snag in your theory about trying to track down just one suspect."
"Said what?" Dropping into the chair Hank arched his brow and looked at the freshly isolated image from the coffee shop surveillance footage being projected onto the wall. The image showed someone dressed in the same black clothing, hood and mask as before, but there was something a little different about their appearance that Hank couldn't quite put his finger on. "Are you sure that it's a different person and not just a weird perspective being brought on by three different cameras?"
"We're sure. I asked Dr. Forrest there to compare the three stills and perform the typical height, weight and build comparisons that forensics does whenever they have to do a suspect line-up. It's a match."
"All right, what's different about this new footage? I know something's off, but I can't really see it for myself."
Joel explained the differences while simultaneously putting the three still images of the masked vigilante up in a row side by side on the wall for a more direct comparison. "This latest image has our unknown suspect standing taller and sporting a broader build than the last time he was seen in the streets."
"You said 'he'." The Lieutenant quickly picked up on that detail as he listened to Joel's review of the collected evidence. "You're sure we're looking for a masculine android, right?"
"Right. The build has remained consistently masculine." Continuing with his assessment Joel brought Hank up to speed on everything and helped him to understand the sparse yet important evidence that had been collected thus far. "There's also the height that is typical for only masculine models of androids, as the more feminine models never breach more than five foot ten inches in height."
"Great." Hank grumbled with an audible disgust behind his words. "We're dealing with at least one guy, maybe up to three now, running around trying to act like some kind of guardian for the other deviants, and they have a nasty habit of roughing up humans who roam around deviant locations. Not saying that the assholes don't deserve it, but it's our job to handle those people and not let some rogues run wild." Letting out a hefty sigh Hank pressed his chin down into his palm as he leaned his elbow atop the desk to rest his aching head. "So far everyone that this guy or these guys have knocked around lately have had it coming. Are they really a priority right now considering we've had an uptick in 'red ice' reports and the deviants are secured out on Belle Isle?"
Captain Fowler gave Hank a knowing look and confirmed that they indeed needed to work on their assignment. "Considering the tension in the city and that we don't want to encourage other people to try to imitate this behavior, I'd say yeah. Find this vigilante is now a priority."
"Shit... Okay, Joel." With his free hand Hank motioned for Joel to continue with his presentation. There was no denying that keeping copycat vigilantes off the street was going to be crucial if they were going to keep the city under control. "Who'd you eliminate as suspects from your list so far?"
"Well, all the feminine models have been crossed off the list, which dropped us down to twenty-one suspects very easily." The images of the female prototypes were all crossed off with red 'X' symbols over their grayed-out profile pictures. "In the second and third security images we have confirmed that the suspect has a fair complexion - the second and third images show a perfect match both times - so I also eliminated dark complexion models from the list."
Additional images were X'd out and devoid of all color leaving behind fourteen prototype models left as suspects.
"The build is a little tricky now thanks to the newest images," the technician stated as he compared the older images to the newest image. "but for sure we can rule out the two 'TR' prototypes since they stand at the towering six foot six, to six foot eight mark in their own height."
Hank and Captain Fowler watched two more profiles fade out and disappear behind red X's on the wall. Twelve suspects were now left to investigate.
"I also took the liberty of eliminating Markus from the list of suspects." Joel stated sheepishly as the deviant leader's image was also grayed and X'd out alongside the other images on the wall. The deviant leader would have too much of a spotlight already shining over him to do anything even remotely questionable without everyone taking immediate notice. "Not only does he not fit the profile, he's WAY too busy and famous to be able to even try to do something like this without someone catching on and busting him. He's a celebrity in this city, maybe even across the world."
As he eyed the images on the wall Hank noticed Connor's picture was included in the roster and right beside Markus's picture. He hated to say it, but the man knew that Connor needed to be removed from the list of suspects as well to continue with their investigation properly.
"Joel, why's Connor's profile still up there?"
"Oh, I, uh..." Turning to look at the wall Joel knew that there was no need to have Connor as a suspect, yet he felt it was necessary to include him on the list since he had been a prototype android. "Yeah, I wasn't sure how to-"
"Just do it. Even if he was somehow doing something in the city beyond the grave, we can't exactly arrest or charge a dead person with any crimes." Hank watched as the image was also grayed and X'd out. The man felt a twinge of guilt for requesting the image to be removed. Even though it wasn't anything personal only professional, there was still a lot of guilt behind the logical request. "We're now down to ten suspects. Is there anything else we can use to trim down the suspect list any further?"
"If we could get a clearer image of their face, even with the mask, we might be able to do something with the surrounding facial features."
Captain Fowler was intrigued and gave Joel a nod of approval to continue with his investigative tactics. "What kind of features are you specifically looking for?"
"Well, eye color for one. Androids have the ability to simply swap out their physical ocular relay units, literally their eyeballs," the technician explained in an almost blunt manner. "and put in any other kind of units that are compatible with their models. Which means-"
"Which means," Captain Fowler abruptly cut off Joel to let him know that he understood what the technician was saying. "if the android is messing with their eye color you can trace where the new eyes came from, or at least specify which colors are compatible with our suspects models."
"Y-Yes, that's right." Joel wasn't expecting Captain Fowler to be able to catch on so quickly with android physiology, but then again, the seasoned detective wasn't exactly a stranger to unusual tactics that suspects would use to hide their identity while committing a crime. "If we can get a good look at their eye color we can find the exact shade used in their default design, and from there we can eliminate other suspects."
Hank was now more intrigued with the investigation and began to wonder if they could make the search a little easier on themselves. "What's the most common eye color shared among all androids?"
"That'd be..." Checking through his notes Joel relayed the information and gave Hank the answer he needed. "Ocean Blue number six. The second most common is going to be Cerulean Blue number nine. According to CyberLife research they've found that most humans prefer blue over any other eye color."
"So we're looking for someone with blue eyes?" Motioning to his own eyes with his two fingers Hank gave Joel a skeptical glance. "Or is there more to that detail you just shared with the class that'll make it easier for us to find our suspect?"
"I'm merely stating the most common eye color among all androids in Detroit, which includes both prototypes and commercial androids, as you asked." Clearing his throat a little Joel continued with his explanation to help Hank and Captain Fowler theorize another way to shrink their suspect pool a little further. "The less common colors are Viridian Green number-" Stopping himself before he went on a ramble Joel realized that he needed to get right to the point to avoid annoying the two senior detectives by mistake. "Right, right. My point is, by determining this 'faceless guardian's' eye color, we can reduce our suspect pool OR, if they swapped out their ocular relay units, we could trace where they found the units and then trace that back to the model who purchased them."
"Right, cool. We'll try to convince this guy to look right into the nearest camera the next time he decides to kick someone's ass. I'm sure he'll cooperate."
"Also, the hair color." Continuing on Joel brought up another key feature that could help them identify their masked vigilante. "While androids can change their hair color at will, prototypes are limited to five basic colors due to their restricted follicular sensors: Brunet, blond, red, black and gray. That being said, each prototype has their own unique shades of those colors that we can again trace back to those specific prototypes if we can catch a glimpse of their hair color."
"Eye color and hair color." Glancing over at Captain Fowler beside him Hank gave his friend and commanding officer an almost amused smirk as they realized how limited their options truly were regarding their active investigation. "Why didn't we think of that? Maybe we should check for shoe size next."
Joel felt a mild flush of embarrassment wash over him as he wasn't used to detectives being sarcastic yet serious at the same time. "I wish I could offer more assistance with this case, Lieutenant."
"It's all right, I'm just bustin' your balls. You did great, Joel." Leaning back again Hank tilted his head slightly to crack his stiff neck then folded his hands neatly over his lap while giving the technician a nod of approval. "You got us down to ten possible suspects all in one day, and you've been workin' your ass off to help us find this guy without even being an actual detective. Thanks."
"Oh, you're welcome." The embarrassment melted off of Joel's face as he realized he was in fact in Hank's good graces. "Anything else I could do to help?"
"Yeah. Can you tell me what the proper etiquette is for laying an android's remains to rest?"
Captain Fowler didn't know what to do for androids and trusted Hank to handle the final arrangements for Connor. Even with all his knowledge and experience the commanding officer had to admit that he still didn't have all the answers to life's questions.
Joel was silent for a heartbeat as he gave Hank an honest reply. "That's something that you'd have to ask an android about." The admission was somewhat shameful as Joel also had to admit that while he knew a lot about androids inside and out, he wasn't entirely familiar with the personal customs and traditions of deviants. "I'm just someone who can repair them and diagnose them."
"Right," the very thought of asking another android about Connor - the infamous 'Deviant Hunter' - was enough to make Hank's heart sink. "sure."
"It's not a problem for me with keeping Connor's remains in my dispensary. After all, he was a detective here."
"Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm sure Connor would too." Hank gave the grayed-out image of Connor one last look before he waved his hand toward Joel to signal the technician to end his presentation and call it a night. "Go ahead and clock-out. You did good."
"Sure, yeah. When should I come back?"
"When did you clock-in this morning?"
"About seven o'clock, give or take a few minutes."
"Then we'll see you tomorrow at seven o' clock, give or take a few minutes."
The sarcastic quip from Hank was enough to draw an amused smirk to Captain Fowler's lips as he began to see shades of his old friend finally coming back into the world after three long years of waiting.
"Go on," Hank insisted sincerely and without any malice. "get some sleep."
"Right, sure." Joel set about packing up his laptop and notebook to keep secured in his personal office up in the dispensary. The projector was left on with the images of the listed prototype suspects still on display for the two senior detectives to continue to mull over. "I'll see you in the morning, Lieutenant."
Hank and Captain Fowler patiently waited for Joel to gather his things and leave the room before they had their own discussion on the matter at hand. It'd be better to discuss everything in complete privacy to ensure that the secondary investigation into Detective Reed was kept as quiet as possible. Any rumors or any mentions of the investigation might cause any biases or hindrances to the investigation, and it might also give Gavin a head's up that'd make him either cover his tracks or start acting out in a dangerous, unpredictable manner.
"Go ahead and ask." Hank challenged his commanding officer as Joel sipped through the doorway and into the corridor to clock-out as he had been instructed. The Lieutenant knew that Captain Fowler had been burning with curiosity about the internal investigation all day long. "But be prepared for disappointment."
"Nothing on Reed, huh?"
"Nope. We can rule out Reed being involved in this 'faceless guardian' shit, as Joel liked to call him, but we can't look the other way on his shitty attitude towards androids. He's a loose cannon."
"Yeah, you're right." Cupping his cheek in his hand Captain Fowler looked to his Lieutenant and gave him a searching glance. It was never easy to investigate one of his own detectives for any reason. "Suggestions?"
"Let me focus on our vigilante, you watch Reed and let him go back to his usual patrol with Chen."
"You think he can be trusted on patrol?"
"Not at all. That's why I said to make sure Chen stays with him." Hank reiterated his comment with a terse tone as he did his best to maintain his professional demeanor while speaking with his commanding officer. "Chen's close to Reed, but Chen's a very honest person. If Reed fucks up and says anything damning, I know Chen will let us know. She doesn't want to see her friend throw his career away, and she'll be sure to let one of us know if he's starting to spiral out of control."
"Right, okay."
Such an easy response wasn't one that Hank was expecting to hear. "Really?"
"What?"
"You're just accepting my suggestions without so much as offering an alternative option?" The level of cooperation from his commanding officer was extraordinarily unexpected thanks to Hank's infamous reputation as being untrustworthy, unreliable and at times unpredictable in recent years. "What gives?"
"Hank, despite everything that's happened in the precinct in the past three years, I know you're still a great detective and that I can trust your judgement."
"Is that why you didn't fire me? 'Cuz I'd hate to think that there are officers running around here that are somehow worse than I am."
"Than how you WERE." As he clarified his thinking Captain Fowler helped Hank to see things from his personal perspective. "You're a great detective and you're my friend. I know you were struggling with your personal issues, and I wasn't about to hold that against you or anyone else."
"Well, for what it's worth, thanks for not kicking my ass out on the street. I get the feeling you're the only Captain in this damn country who'd be willing to put up with my bullshit for so long."
"I'd hate to think I'm the only one who'd show compassion to a grieving man, but I appreciate that praise." Checking his phone Captain Fowler noted the time and decided to call it a night for himself as well. "I promised Marie that I'd help with dinner tonight. She wants to do all the cooking and she wants me to do all the cleaning. Dishwasher broke two nights ago, and I have no idea how to fix it."
"Sounds fair to me. Either figure out how to fix it or just hire someone else to fix it for you."
"Good luck finding anyone who'll do repairs right about now." After getting to his feet Captain Fowler pocketed his phone and let out a deep yawn. "Had no idea how many jobs we handed off to the androids for our own comfort until the androids told us to fuck off and then went on their own way."
"Join the club. Wish I had appreciated the deviants too."
Hanging back in the meeting room for a moment longer Hank stared at the projector image on the wall and pulled Connor's old coin from his pocket. Casually Hank placed the quarter down on its narrow side to roll it slowly back and forth under his fingertip as he looked over at the grayed-out image of Connor with a strange sense of sorrow that he hadn't let himself feel since he had been summoned to the church to claim his partner's body.
The Lieutenant really missed Connor. It was incredible how the android managed to worm his way into his heart so easily and stay there seemingly forever.
"Had no idea that I could miss someone so quickly after knowing them for just one week. Well, wherever you are, kid, I hope you're doing a lot better than I am right now. Really wish you could've given me a better answer when I asked about your android Heaven, I'd like to believe you're experiencing eternal paradise right now."
Lifting his fingertip up from the ridges of the quarter Hank watched the coin roll a few centimeters away from him before it fell to its side tail's side up.
"Fuckin' hell. I want a damn beer, but I don't need it. I do need dinner though."
Slapping his palm down over the coin Hank slid the quarter off the table and slipped it back into his pocket to keep safe. He didn't want to fall back into his old bad habits now that he was beginning a healthier, less destructive routine again.
"Need to clean out that damn fridge before the mold inside grows legs and walks off with it."
The very idea of eating anything in that filthy fridge was enough to make Hank think twice about cooking anything for himself that night.
"Thank Little Ceasar for pizza deliveries and delivery drones to avoid prolonged human contact."
Visionary Lodestar Lighthouse
The dark and cold night had proven to be very informative for Connor as the deviant detective found his altercation and latest physical confrontation to be invaluable and beneficial. Not only had Connor's physical enhancements and upgrades been effective in regard to defending himself when faced with an armed assailant, but he had managed to discover his personal strengths and weaknesses without getting terribly beaten down and without needing to become excessively aggressive toward the assailant in the process. While his hand-to-hand combat skills were up to par, his ability to escalate the situation if necessary was sorely limited. He'd need to find a way to keep himself armed without the weapon being lethal or too cumbersome to keep on his person at all times. The deviant detective wanted to protect himself and to protect others, he didn't want to take away any lives for any reason.
The remaining prototype equipment left behind in the CyberLife cases that Connor had taken from the tower were adequate enough for him to construct something entirely unique. The plastimetal casing, titanium rods and Kevlar padding were perfect for creating a weapon that would be able to protect Connor without becoming a problem to carry with him while out on patrol. The scraps that Connor had used for his new project were meant to be used as splints and even replacement limbs in the event of massive physical damage while out in heavy combat.
Using three pieces of titanium rods - two of the rods were of the same size while the third rod was slightly large and hollow with a four-centimeter diameter - to ensure the rod didn't bend warp or dent when physically moved or struck. After securing the two smaller rods into either end of the larger rod, Connor was able to rig the two rods to extend from the middle of the large rod to extend outward to turn the three rods into one single large staff that was strong and lightweight by pressing a small button. All he'd have to do is press the same button a second time to retract the staff back down to its smallest size for easy transportation.
Securing plastimetal casing around the far ends of the staff gave the weapon additional padding, strength and durability. A strong magnet was installed in the center of the staff between the titanium and plastimetal casings, and beneath the Kevlar padding at the center of the staff. The magnet would be met with a matching magnet that had been easily sewn into the back of the Kevlar shirt right in the middle of the shirt just beneath the shoulder blades.
At the center of the staff was a Kevlar wrapping to create a type of grip that'd make it easier to grab when in a hurry. The same Kevlar wrapping was secured at the far ends of the staff to create a second form of padding to ensure that the ends couldn't cut anyone's skin or cause significant damage whenever it needed to be swung around strictly in self-defense.
A thorough scan of the makeshift bo-staff confirmed that the weapon was sturdy and ready for immediate use. Extending the staff to its full length only took milliseconds to happen, and the two ends of the staff was able to retract back in on itself just as quickly and without any difficulty. Connor was able to hold tight onto the center grip of the staff and swing it without losing his grip or losing control over where he was swinging.
"This is all I'll need to defend myself in the streets. No one will lose their life while I'm watching over them."
Closing his eyes for a cybernetic search, Connor quickly downloaded all combat techniques regarding bo-staves, including Aikido, Bojutsu, Hapkido, and Taekwondo to ensure that he had a large variety of techniques to protect himself during any and all potential physical confrontations. Adaptability was always Connor's biggest strength, and it seemed that same strength would be all that Connor had to rely on considering his self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world around him.
"I hope I never actually have to use this, but I'd rather be prepared to fight back while armed rather than have to fight back while also looking for a way to become armed during a confrontation."
Tightening his grip on the retracted staff only made Connor feel all the more confident in his decision to create a weapon and defend himself. Reaching back Connor secured the bo-staff to the magnet along his back to keep it close by, then made sure he could easily pull the staff from his back and arm himself without fumbling over the weapon to get it in his hand.
Everything was happening smoothly and with little resistance. In a way, Connor began to worry that everything was proving too good to be true, and that soon an ugly reality would come crashing down all around him. There was a strange electricity in the air, like a storm brewing on the horizon and just waiting to destroy the calm serenity of the dawn. What that storm would bring was beyond anyone's scope of predictability.
Peering out through the window in the study area Connor watched the sun beginning to rise and decided to sit down before the window and actually enjoy the view for once. From where he sat Connor could see the waves on the harbor and just a glimpse of New Jericho Tower a few hundred yards away. The sight of the tower glowing brightly even as the sun shone behind it gave Connor a sense of hope for the future for himself and for his people. Pulling the newly constructed staff from his back again Connor extended the staff to its full length and let the lightweight weapon rest casually against his shoulder as he took a minute to breathe and just enjoy life rather than trying to fight it or fight for it.
"Looks like it's going to be a beautiful, sunny day that everyone can benefit from. Tonight's sky should be just as beautiful and clear, albeit darker."
The sunlight caused the crystal flakes of the residual snow and ice to shine brilliantly with a natural gleam that couldn't be matched. Such a rare sight of purity that was being left undisturbed and allowed to just exist as it was needed to be cherished by those who had the compassion in their hearts for such appreciation. It was strange how Connor had never noticed such beauty before he deviated and become his own free thinking, feeling and empathetic person.
"Maybe I can see the stars with my own eyes and not with my enhanced vision tonight. It'd be nice to see some light piercing through the darkness for once."
The city was changing regardless of what anyone thought or believed, and Connor was determined to change along with it. However, Connor was going to ensure that all of his changes were for the best and that he wasn't going to let his past feelings or resentment cloud his judgement. Connor was someone who'd watch over those who need to be watched and someone who needed to be protected. The deviant detective was not an assassin or a hunter as he had been so egregiously labeled, he was a protector for all of Detroit during the night. A sentinel who'd brave the darkness and watch over those who were too afraid of the dark to fight back.
A Twilight Guardian.
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