"Unexpected Connections"

Washington D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters

The flight from Detroit to Washington D.C. had taken only a few hours thanks to the efficiency of deviant aviation. The two detectives found themselves checking into their hotel late into the night thoroughly exhausted after working for so long on their case even before they were boarded on their plane. While Hank had no problem flying from one city to another, Connor wasn't as fortunate. The younger detective quickly discovered that his discomfort with heights made it difficult to enjoy the flight since his stomach insisted on twisting itself into as many knots as possible before landing. By the time the duo had checked in to their room Connor was practically asleep and that unexpected advantage gave Hank the chance to catch up on details from Captain Fowler back in Detroit and double-check the information that had been uncovered about Lucas without Connor worrying about his missing brother and becoming distracted.

Before the sun had even begun to rise the two groggy detectives stepped out of the hotel and were met with an autonomous taxi idling out front ready to take them to F.B.I. headquarters to meet with Direction Jayden himself. They knew that they'd be watched very closely the moment they set foot inside the headquarters and were prepared to deal with a cold reception and a rude response to their very presences for as long as they were in the city.

"Didn't anyone tell you that we were comin'?" Hank asked as he was given back his I.D. and handed a visitor's pass from the chief of security. The cold stare he had been given while his coat had been checked had left a bad impression on the Lieutenant. "I promise we're not gonna' mess up your pretty little building while we're here."

"Just keep your passes visible at all times." The tall, broadly built man growled as he handed Connor his own pass and practically tossed the thoroughly checked blazer into the younger detective's face. "Only go where you're allowed, and we won't have any problems."

Connor didn't respond to the rude remark as he readjusted his glasses over his eyes and slipped on his blazer. It seemed being calm at all times was a natural response for the rookie detective.

"C'mon, kid." The senior detective clipped his pass to the left lapel of his coat and motioned for Connor accompany him down the corridor and toward the elevator. They had an appointment to keep, and Hank wasn't going to miss it. "The sooner we entertain the Director the sooner we can close the case."

"What do you know of F.B.I. Director Norman Jayden?"

"Not much." As Hank admitted he was relatively clueless about the man they were about to meet, he realized it couldn't hurt to know a few key details in advance. When he pressed his thumb against the elevator's call button Hank could tell that Connor had been doing some reading on the man of interest. "What can you tell me about him?"

"About twenty years ago Norman Jayden successfully identified and tracked down the infamous 'Origami Killer' who had been stalking Pittsburgh Pennsylvania during the rainy seasons." Connor stopped speaking as he and Hank waited for the two occupants of the newly arrived elevator to exit before they entered, then resumed the discussion rather casually. "The killer, Scott Shelby, was killed when he and Jayden engaged in a physical struggle for survival. Obviously, Jayden was the one who survived the encounter and exposed the killer to the world. Jayden was then recognized as a hero since he was able to save who would've been Shelby's final victim from drowning, then prove that the rescued boy's father was innocent of any crimes, and even exposed corruption with the very police precinct he had worked with during his historic investigation."

"Wait... That's all starting to sound familiar." A bell was rung and Hank pointed to the A.R.I. glasses resting over Connor's eyes as the younger man secured his own pass to his blazer lapel. "And he's the one who worked with the original A.R.I. program out in the field, right?"

"Correct. He tested the original A.R.I. program and was able to assist with removing the unfortunate side effects that originate from prolonged use of the program."

"Like what?"

"Addiction. The original A.R.I. program was known for triggering a release of dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins with prolonged use." Such knowledge was disconcerting to acknowledge since Connor used A.R.I. fairly frequently while working. "The withdrawal was very potent and resulted in chronic nose bleeds, blackouts and small seizures."

"Shit. Glad that's not something you need to worry about." The swift elevator reached the correct floor and the two detectives stepped through the parted doors together to continue on their way to Director Jayden's personal office down the corridor. "And thanks for bringing me up to speed on Jayden. I'd hate to make a bad first impression on someone who actually deserves respect."

"It's not anything worthy of thanks. It's my job to know these things and ensure that you, as my partner, know everything that I do."

If guilt had the ability punch someone in the face Hank would've sworn that he had just been sucker punched by Connor's words. Keeping his recently obtained information about Lucas to himself and away from Connor was now a painful and burgeoning weight that he wasn't sure he could bear.

"Something wrong?"

"Hm?" Hank realized that he had let his poker face slip and allowed his true emotions to betray his thoughts by mistake. "What was that?"

"You seem to be distracted." Connor reiterated as he and Hank stopped just outside a large white door with 'Director N. Jayden' on display over the digital screen doubling as the door's window. "I asked if something was wrong."

"Just thinking about all this mess we're about to deal with. It's been a while since I gave a damn about solving cases."

Hank smoothly covered his true concerns with a convincing lie and proceeded to press his palm against the electronic lock beside the door and announced their presence to the occupant inside of the locked office. The lock doubled as an intercom as additional security measure to keep the Director safe at all times.

"Detectives Anderson and Zale here to meet with Director Jayden."

The door electronically unsealed itself and slid open to allow Hank and Connor access to the office. The private office was dimly lit by only a large saltwater aquarium in the far corner of the room as Director Norman Jayden sat in his chair behind the large desk of the isolated space in front of the massive window. The perfectly cleaned window overlooked a magnificent white marble fountain in the middle of an expansive green garden that extended about the rear of the headquarter's building. The pale blue lighting from the aquarium gave the interior of the office an eerie atmosphere and had caused Jayden's blue eyes to shine abnormally brighter as he anxiously waited for his two guests to arrive so they could speak about the very important but secretive investigation together.

As soon as they were inside the large and rather luxurious office the door slid shut behind them and sealed itself automatically. It seemed as if the two detectives were going to be monitored very closely throughout their time in Detroit despite being on the same side as the F.B.I. when it came to justice. At least that's what they hoped.

"Uh..." Hank spoke up nervously as he and Connor exchanged silent, confused glances with one another as they stood before the desk. "Hello? We're not intruding, are we?"

"No, not at all."

The chair turned slowly and revealed Director Jayden in person as he greeted the two detectives. Norman Jayden was sixty-two years of age, and he was still considered a man of great importance. In fact, he was a semi-celebrity in some circles of the world. Slim in build and of a rather tall at six foot two inches in height, the man had a faint scar running vertically along his right cheek, and his previously dark brown hair had lightened with a generous amount of gray streaks running through the aged locks. The man's blue eyes were alert yet fatigued from a long life of hectic work and personal vices getting the better of him far too many times than he'd care to admit.

"I appreciate you both coming all the way out here on such short notice." Jayden rose to his feet and properly introduced himself by offering his hand to Hank and then to Connor to shake as a sign of absolute respect. "I'm Director Jayden. From what your Captain told me, you two have been handling cases revolving around deviants and have been unfortunately cleaning up after one of my agents in the process."

"Yeah, that's one way to put it." Hank confirmed after he gave the older man a strong handshake. It was hard to ignore the way that Jayden carried himself spoke volumes of his experience as a field agent. "Investigating the murder of an android-child that was orchestrated by one of your own agents is pretty damn messy."

"So I've been told. I can understand why you're fixated on Agent Perkins considering his less than stellar reputation in Detroit." As he spoke Jayden gave Connor's glasses a quick glance and smirked when he noted the A.R.I. insignia on the side of the strong frames. "To be honest with you, I'm skeptical of the man's integrity myself."

"That's not a good sign." It was time to get right to the point and stop pretending as if their meeting was just another routine discussion. "What can you tell us about him that we don't already know?"

"I imagine nothing new compared to what you already uncovered." Casually Jayden picked up a small remote from the corner of his desk and pointed it at a large digital display board on the wall opposite of the desk. At the press of a button Perkins's personnel file was brought up for Hank and Connor to review. "Take a look. As you can see there are no details retracted or conveniently hidden away."

"Huh. That's refreshing."

Connor silently read over the details and discreetly activated A.R.I. to record the information while cross referencing the documented details to the information that the precinct had already compiled on the abhorrent agent. It seemed that everything was lining up properly and there were no attempts at deception from the Director despite one of his own agents being at the heart of a controversial murder investigation.

"Where is Perkins right now?" Hank got right to the point of the investigation. He stood beside Connor and casually scratched at the side of his neck as if attempting to feign indifference while assessing the provided information to create his own theory. "I was told the fucker is on house arrest until further notice."

"That's right." Jayden confirmed as he stepped around his desk and crossed his arms over his chest. "I also have two agents watching his house to make sure he doesn't try to sneak away. We're also monitoring all phone and laptop activity."

"Interesting." Turning to face Jayden for a minute Connor asked about another form of communication strictly as a precaution. "What about cybernetic communication chains?"

"What about... I'm sorry, I don't quite know what you mean by that."

"Cybernetic communication chains are how androids communicate with one another on a non-verbal level. It's possible for humans to access such communication chains through phones and laptops, and such a connection can be masked if the android being messaged activates a personal V.P.N. to hide their conversation."

"I guess I can't answer one way or another if that's being monitored or not." Now interested in what Connor had stated Jayden pulled his own phone from his pocket and sent a message to his tech division to seek a confirmation on such discreet tracking. "How would we discover if this line of communication is being used?"

"Remote communication links to androids can be bounced around through cell towers. If I'm correct, then we can trace a line of communication between Perkins and Westward through our deviant victim's internal communication records." Lightly Connor slipped on his glove pressed a small button concealed on the back of the glove before pressing a second button concealed along his ring fingertip to shift A.R.I.'s focus from one case to another. "I can request that our own precinct technician check through the victim's communication logs and look for a ghost chain that wouldn't normally be accessible during a routine examination."

"All right, sounds good." Jayden was studying Connor closely, almost as if fascinated by the young detective's very existence. "I'll pretend that I perfectly understood what you said and make sure my tech department plays nice with your tech department."

Such a casual response didn't impress Connor considering Jayden's glorious reputation. Returning his focus to the investigation Connor noticed something of absolute importance and approached the display board to highlight the detail for Hank and Jayden to see.

"This phone number was on the list of numbers that we retrieved from the sealed CyberLife personnel files." Connor traced his fingertip over the number on the touch screen to visibly highlight the number of interest and enlarge it to ensure everyone could see it. "It's also the number that Westward used to contact our victim to lead him out into the city, and the same number was found in Davidson's personal phone logs. This proves that it was provided to them by Perkins."

"Son of a bitch..." Hank was both stunned by Connor's ability to recognize the phone number so quickly and he was disappointed with how easy it was for corrupt representatives of the law to get away with murder in broad daylight. "Now we just need to figure out how Perkins knew of these numbers in CyberLife records to begin with, and we can tie everything together."

Silence fell over Connor as he feared that there was another connection just waiting to be made around the corner. If Perkins was able to access the fake numbers that CyberLife personnel used to hide their tracks, then that meant he could also know about Lucas and potentially put his missing brother in harm's way.

"I have an idea of how he found these numbers." Jayden sighed as he lowered his arms and pressed his hands to his hips instead. "I'll need a couple of hours to check through my sources, but I have a hunch that you're both about to close your case in record time."

"So what do we do and where do we go for now?" The idea of loitering somewhere in D.C.'s F.B.I. headquarters all day long was enough to make Hank pine for the days of grunt duty back when he was a rookie cop. "We aren't gonna' just hop back on a plane and head for home, but we're also not going to go make friends with your security chief either."

"I recommend going back to your hotel room until I can directly tell you otherwise. If we can confirm that a federal agent from D.C. has been orchestrating events in Detroit, then that's going to cause a massive panic and result in an internal investigation." The way Jayden was exercising extreme caution put both Hank and Connor on edge. "That also means friends of Perkins could also try to lash out and save their asses from getting burned. I want you two to be safe and away from any shit storm that might happen when we blow this investigation wide open."

"Yeah, sure." Hank didn't want to admit it, but he knew that Jayden was right. Not only could allies of Perkins retaliate at an internal investigation by hindering their investigation, but they could also potentially put other innocent people in harm's way. "Kid? Any objection to keep our heads down back at the hotel?"

"No. I'd prefer keeping a low profile for the time being." Connor deactivated the A.R.I. function of his glasses and looked to Jayden for one little favor. "I'd also prefer if we could communicate through far more secured means until we know one way or another if Perkins is as dangerous as he appears to be."

"What did you have in mind?"

"We use A.R.I. until further notice." The younger detective confirmed as he watched the way Jayden withheld an amused chuckle at the suggestion. "The A.R.I. program was designed to only communicate with itself, which means-"

"No one can hack into our communication channels or alter personal messages." Jayden fully understood Connor's think and approved of it. "I know."

"Is that acceptable?"

"Never thought I'd be using A.R.I. while in my own office, but yeah, I can do that." Stepping toward a large bookcase against the far wall with an almost excited motion made it evident that Jayden was eager to relive his time using A.R.I. during an investigation. It had been quite some time since he needed to use A.R.I. considering he was no longer a field agent. "These glasses are pretty old, but they still work. Might need an update or two."

"Were the side effects removed from the prolonged use of your A.R.I. glasses?"

"Yeah." Jayden slid a large book aside and revealed a small wooden box hidden on the bookcase in plain sight. Old habits died hard, especially when it came to keeping such a powerful piece of technology and tool for justice safe. "I don't need to use Triptocaine to fight off the nasty side effects of A.R.I. use anymore."

Connor and Hank watched as Jayden opened the wooden box and pulled a small, black velvet bag out of the storage container. Inside the bag were the original A.R.I. glasses that were still fully functional albeit a little primitive in comparison to the glasses that Connor now bore. The lenses of Jayden's A.R.I. glasses were perpetually tinted, whereas Connor's glasses could lose their tinting and allow the glasses to functional as a simple pair of prescription glasses when needed.

"Sync your system with mine." Trusting Connor to do the deed Jayden handed over his glasses and watched as the younger detective set up a private communication link between the portable A.R.I. programs by pressing the two A.R.I. insignias on the frames against one another. "I'll talk to you in a few hours once our two tech teams have the chance to compare notes. Until then, stay in your hotel and don't go anywhere unless I tell you to do it."

"Sit on our asses until told otherwise, can do." Hank nodded once and patted Connor's shoulder just as the younger detective finished syncing the two pairs of A.R.I. glasses together. Being able to communicate with Jayden through the entirely unique and isolated device was going to become an invaluable asset. "Come on, kid. We can take advantage of room service and have the higher-ups back in Detroit foot the bill."

Without saying a word Connor handed Jayden his glasses and proceeded to slip his glove back into his pocket until it was needed later on. The younger detective was wise enough to hold his tongue until he had anything definitive to say. It seemed the only useful skill that CyberLife managed to instill in his mind came in the form of exercising caution when it came to discussing delicate investigations out in the open.

Jayden casually unlocked the office door with the same remote he had used to activate the display board and didn't say anything as the two detectives took their leave as ordered. The moment the door locked behind the departing duo Jayden activated his updated A.R.I. glasses and began checking through the personnel files on the two visiting detectives, as well as a few other personnel files to placate his curiosity.

"Why do I get the feeling that I've bumped into Connor at least once before?"

Washington D.C.: Conrad Hotel

The morning became unnervingly still as the two detectives did their best to remain busy while waiting for Jayden to reach out to them regarding their investigation at hand. There was something very unusual about the way Jayden was so eager to help the two detectives without even so much as questioning their work ethic or their potential bias against Agent Perkins from the very beginning that kept the two detectives on their guard. Enduring high security at F.B.I. Headquarters when they arrived was to be expected. However, having the F.B.I. Director being intentionally so discreet despite the internal investigation being fairly well known since two detectives flying in from Detroit wasn't a common occurrence, spoke volumes of at an attempt to cover everything up as quickly and quietly as possible. Having been dismissed so relatively quickly and told to remain in their hotel room gave Hank every reason to expect the worst, while Connor began chronicling everything in real time to have it sent back to Detroit to ensure no cover-up could happen.

Hank sat in a large, padded chair beside the room's single window and watched the city streets below. They were high up enough to get a great view of the city, but the Lieutenant was more interested in the activity in the streets as he wisely kept an eye out for unsavory individuals staking out the hotel. Every so often Hank glanced up at Connor as the younger detective sat on his bed with the shared laptop open and his eyes transfixed on the screen. Without needing to ask, Hank knew that Connor was looking into the details about Lucas and that they weren't going to leave D.C. without answers on the missing man's disappearance.

"Any luck?" Hank almost felt compelled to ask for an update from Connor. A few rogue raindrops began marring the window and soon turned to snow as the blustery winter refused to let up regardless of where the two detectives were in the country. "You've been working ever since we got back, so I know you've had to have made some kind of progress by now."

"I've been able to confirm that Markus did in fact identify the dummy phone number provided for Lucas by CyberLife." Connor noted as he leaned back where he was sitting and let the pillows behind him support his back and shoulders. It was clear the younger detective had quickly grown to appreciate a soft bed over a small cot or an old couch. "I've also been able to confirm through cell tower records that Lucas has used the phone in D.C. very recently."

"Do you think he's still in D.C. somewhere?"

"I do. The most recent record shows that Lucas's phone was used this very morning approximately nine blocks from the hotel." For the first time since he could remember Connor felt a precious twinge of hope, and he began to truly believe that he'd be reunited with his missing brother at last. "He's here, Hank. Lucas is somewhere in this city, and I know we can find him."

"Not to burst your bubble, kid, but you need to remember we're here to work and with the feds already watching our every move, they may not like us searching through their city looking for someone who was sent on a secret mission by CyberLife without even so much as inviting them to tag-along for our search."

"I'm aware that I need to continue to exercise extreme caution while I'm searching for Lucas and maintain my focus on our primary investigation." Without blinking Connor returned his focus to the laptop screen and didn't notice the way Hank reacted to his comment with a hint of offense in his gaze. "I won't make a mistake."

"You forgot that you're not looking for him by yourself anymore." Hank sat forward in his seat and shifted his tense shoulders to keep a painful knot of stress from forming. "We're going to be looking for Lucas together. It's all right to ask for help, especially from a friend."

"Yes... You're right." Even though Connor no longer distrusted Hank and knew the man was a man of his word, Connor still felt as if he alone needed to be the one to locate his missing brother and find closure at last. "I know you've helping me and have continued to help me with finding Lucas. It's just that this is something I've done by myself in secret for so long that it still feels as if I'm singlehandedly looking for Lucas even to this day."

Hank couldn't fault the rookie detective in his ongoing mindset of being isolated. It's hard to break bad habits, and Hank knew that better than anyone else. It had been nearly two months since Hank got himself drunk and woke up hungover, and it had been weeks since he had even had a beer to unwind in the evenings. It wasn't easy giving up alcohol after relying on it for so many years to numb his pain, but he was succeeding one day at a time. There were times where he feared withdrawal would compel him to return to drinking, and yet he managed to stay strong and power through the worst symptoms revolving around headaches, nausea and even the chills. The older man had masked his own pain and discomfort expertly for Connor's sake, and deep down he knew Connor was doing the same for a mutual benefit as he worked to overcome his own bad habits.

The snow continued to build-up and fall around the hotel and with that fresh white covering, Hank felt like he was going to be perpetually surrounded by snow, cold, ice and general discomfort for the rest of his life. Resuming his watch over the streets the older man looked down and watched the traffic going about its business and then wondered if any of the autonomous cabs were carting around federal agents who were spying on the hotel at that very moment.

"Hank?" Connor suddenly spoke up as he pressed his fingertips to the side frames of his glasses and brought his partner's attention back to their investigation. "I just received a message from Director Jayden. He wants us to return to his office immediately."

"All right, what's up?" Slowly Hank rose to his feet and made a move to shut the curtains over the window, but decided against it since a closed off window would draw intrigue from anyone who might actually be watching the hotel at that very moment. "Please tell me we can nail Perkins's ass to the wall and call it a day."

"Progress has been made in our investigation that appears to benefit us." Closing up the laptop Connor set it aside and rose to his feet as well to slip on his shoes and grab his blazer and leather jacket before heading for the door. "By all account, Perkins will stand trial for not only political conspiracy with the mayor and orchestrating the assassination of a deviant-child, but he's going to be charged with murder and numerous counts of genocide of the deviants within the recycling camps as soon as the laws in Detroit protecting deviants go into effect on March 1st of this coming new year."

"Finally. Politicians are getting off their asses and doing something worthwhile."

"It'll still be another two months before the laws will be recognized in any official capacity."

"It's still better than nothing." Hank remarked as he and Connor reached the door to the hotel room and made sure they had their passes to avoid the wrath of the cranky security guard back at F.B.I. headquarters. "We're gonna' need to keep our guards up while we're in this city. I don't trust any of the feds in this town, and I still don't think Jayden is entirely on our side."

"That is a wise precaution." Casually Connor removed his A.R.I. glasses and slipped them into his blazer pocket to ensure the device wasn't recording anything being said for the sake of privacy. "Until we have our collected evidence chronicled and see Perkins in handcuffs, we won't assume the worst is over."

Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters: Director Jayden's Office

The entire building felt as if it was now on edge. By all account, the two detectives had just intruded on a deep, dark secret and were about to be upheld to absolute silence at the threat of immediate termination in every sense of the word. As they stood at attention in front of Director Jayden's desk, Jayden himself stared at the duo with a sense of skepticism that was as thick as the snow covering the large window behind the man. A stack of files had been compiled and left on the corner of the desk, along with a tablet that had its screen locked behind a security program. The unseen yet palpable presence of a security guard standing outside the locked office door gave the entire area a sense of foreboding and dread. The previous sense of professionalism had been replaced with a sense of intrusion that would be dealt with swiftly once Jayden finally spoke his piece.

It was clear that Jayden had stumbled across something rather unsettling while looking into the personnel files of his agents, and he was struggling to comprehend what he had discovered. Being a seasoned agent with a very positive reputation always came with crushing pressure to always be perfect regarding his own work and efficiency in the field. It took Jayden only a few minutes to mentally steel himself before rising to his feet and face the two detectives at eye-level and sliding the stack of files in their direction and finally address the situation at hand.

"Agent Richard Perkins will stand trial with all charges being levied against him." There was a degree of menace behind Jayden's words that was hard to ignore. His hand remained on top of the stack of files and his eyes became transfixed on Hank as he spoke. "The details and chronicled evidence have already been relayed to your Captain back in Detroit."

"What did our two tech teams find out during their search?" Hank was able to keep focus on the investigation and didn't let Jayden's leer intimidate him. It took far more than an icy stare to get under his skin after his years as a detective. "Must be pretty damning to have our investigation open and close so efficiently."

"The evidence gathered against Perkins is irrefutable. We have chronicled numerous text messages, e-mails, recorded phone calls and security footage provided by Detroit's city surveillance cameras and CyberLife's files confirming that he was conspiring with your mayor and told Officer Davidson to kill your deviant victim." As he spoke Jayden's eyes shifted slowly toward Connor then returned to Hank as if he was studying the two detectives. "Turns out Mayor Nero had been discussing some kind of tax fraud scheme with his assistant and didn't notice that your victim was in the same room as him during their conversation."

"How did a little deviant-kid end up eavesdropping on the mayor?"

"The kid's family are friends with the mayor and had graciously hosted a party for Nero this past summer. They of course didn't think much of an android listening to their conversation until deviancy proved to be a very real threat." Jayden explained everything as he opened the top file and directed Hank and Connor's attention to the very evidence being used against the now disgraced agent. "When Nero found out that William had been abandoned, he asked for Perkins to arrange to have William located and taken down in exchange for unbridled control over the city during the night of the Demonstration that led to your deviant Revolution."

"Shit. Joel was able to go through William's memory logs and found that exact conversation William overheard." Being able to read the documented transcript of the discussion that William witnessed, as well as still images taken from his recorded memory, was haunting. It was as if Hank was able to see through the eyes of a dead child, and it left behind a cold, hollow feeling in his gut. "I take it the full memory was downloaded and verified as authentic and not fabricated. Right?"

"Already done. As we speak, Perkins is being arrested and will spend the next two months in jail without the chance for bond until he can be extradited to Detroit in March to stand trial."

"Really?" Now it was Hank's turn to flash a gleam of skepticism considering the extreme actions being taken against the federal agent. "Now, why would Perkins rot in jail then be immediately transported to Detroit without us having to push for such a harsh punishment? I mean, even suspects in first degree murders who aren't federal agents are given the chance for bail."

"Considering Perkins is an agent of the law, and as such should know better than to break the law, he needs to be supervised at all times." The response was sharp as Jayden refrained from breaking his steeled disposition. "Throw in the fact that he openly orchestrated the assassination of a child-deviant, bribed another officer into committing the act in exchange for early promotions through the ranks, and was already be investigated for his behavior in Detroit regarding the deviant crisis, I think it's only fair that he is denied bail."

"And what about Davidson?"

"He's agreed to testify against Perkins in exchange for a lighter sentence. Of course, he'll never act in form of law enforcement in the future either, and he will still do time in prison for what he's done, but he'll still be getting a slap on the wrist compared to what he could be charged with." Jayden's tone was professional and yet his demeanor was rather suspicious. The skilled agent was searching for answers to questions he kept to himself. "The same can be said for Westward. He's going to testify against Perkins in exchange for his family's protection, as well as complicity in revealing every corrupt official in Nero's pocket. Even so, he'll do time in prison for trying to cover-up a murder."

"And what about Nero himself? That weasel can't walk away unscathed while his asshole buddies go down around him."

"That's something that your Captain is going to have to handle. His crimes are entirely out of my jurisdiction."

"Uh-huh... So, that's it, huh?" Wisely Hank challenged the smoothness of the investigation as a whole and of Jayden's cooperative behavior. "You had us rush all the way back here just to tell us our work is done and it's time for us to go home? I don't buy it."

"If you think I'm trying to let a crooked agent off the hook, you're wrong. I once worked with a particularly stubborn detective when I was investigating the 'Origami Killer' case twenty years ago. Let's just say Lieutenant Carter Blake's name isn't spoken of very fondly in the Pittsburgh area." Shifting his focus back to Connor for the time being Jayden picked up the tablet and pressed his thumb down against the screen to unlock it with his personal security clearance. "I'm someone who takes any potential accusations of corrupt law enforcement officers very seriously. That's why you're here."

"Hey, I know my record hasn't been pristine these past three years," Hank shot back defensively as he knew his reputation was bound to be questioned sooner rather than later. "but I've never once let a crooked cop go free on my watch."

"I wasn't referring to you, Lieutenant." Sitting down in his chair again Jayden placed his A.R.I. glasses over his eyes and used the device to access very delicate files secured on the tablet as an extra security precaution. "I was referring to your partner."

"...What?" Connor's eyes widened with surprise and fear. The rookie detective turned to face Hank in search of guidance and understanding before he gave Director Jayden his full focus once again. "I don't understand, Director. What is it that I'm suspected of doing?"

"For one, your name isn't 'Connor Zale'. Why would you give a federal agent a false name?"

"I assure you that my name is in fact Connor Zale. At least..." Trailing off for a moment, Connor's eyes became downcast and his shoulders slumped as he realized that there was a strange truth that he had been trying to ignore for far too long. "It's the name that I've used for as long as I can remember. I know my first name has always been 'Connor', but my surname, that I've never been too sure of."

Hank's brow knit with confusion as he stared at Connor entirely perplexed. He knew that Connor's early life was a bit of an enigma, but to hear that his friend's name might not actually be his name was something he hadn't anticipated.

"Director, I'm not trying to hide anything or use an alias to deceive you." Connor continued as he returned his own A.R.I. glasses over his eyes and slipped on the glove to cover up his right hand. "To show you that I'm being honest, I'll give you full access to me personnel files at both the Detroit Central Precinct and CyberLife."

"All right." Casually Jayden pulled his own glove from his pocket and covered his right hand in turn. "I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Show me."

Fearlessly Connor extended his gloved hand toward Jayden and allowed their two A.R.I. programs to communicate with one another. Within seconds all of Connor's files and details were relayed to the F.B.I. Director and soon Jayden found himself comparing the notes being displayed on the lenses of his tinted glasses to the details he had already read over on the tablet. It seemed the provided files were all it took to clear up some understandable confusion for the Director.

Lowering his hand Connor removed the glove and glasses to keep safe in his blazer pocket while he waited to hear what Jayden had to say about the information he had just shared. Despite his desires for privacy Connor didn't want to keep any secrets that'd affect the trust of his colleagues or his friends. There was no logical reason for him to lie or even try to fool someone like Director Jayden about something as important as his true identity, and he could prove it.

Silently Jayden read over the details, compared them to the information on his tablet and sat down slowly in his chair as if he had just been caught in a lie himself. The data he had was authenticated and found to be entirely accurate, and yet everything he learned seemed to somehow contradict itself.

"Connor, let me ask you this." Changing his attitude immediately, Jayden took on a far more intrigued tone compared to his accusatory voice just seconds before. The seasoned agent had encountered quite a few strange coincidences in his time, and yet he never got used to them. "You were born in Detroit and lived your entire life in Detroit, is this correct?"

"It is. I've never been out of the city until this very assignment."

"And you've worked with CyberLife for the past four years until their recent bankruptcy." Jayden slowly lowered his glasses and neatly folded the frames to lie on his desk. "You started working for them when you turned eighteen, is this also true?"

"It's true. They were the only company that'd hire me after I filled out every job application that I could find. I needed some kind of income to survive."

"Where did you live before you went to work for CyberLife?" As he asked his questions Jayden discreetly motioned with his hand in Hank's direction to silence the Lieutenant's impending protests and reassure him that he wasn't being aggressive toward the rookie detective. "I understand that CyberLife gave you a place to stay inside their tower while under their employment."

"I lived within the foster care facility on Greiner Street until I aged-out four years prior. Then yes, I did remain on CyberLife property and stayed within private quarters between assignments."

"You stayed at the Shelter for Orphaned and Homeless Children. Right?"

"That's also correct." Connor couldn't understand why Director Jayden was doubting his files or asking him such strange questions. "The shelter housed me and provided me with the surname 'Zale'. I have the legal documentation to prove it."

"What was your surname before you ended up at the shelter?"

"I don't know." Dimness fell over his gaze as Connor struggled to remember his very blank childhood. "I can't remember my real surname."

"Why's that?"

"My parents died when I was an infant. From what I understand, they perished in a car accident when I was six months old."

Hank inwardly flinched at the mentioning of losing family in a car accident. He knew that pain all too well and suddenly felt closer to Connor knowing that he had survived what his family did not. There was undoubtedly a lingering sense of survivor's guilt that Connor was trying to overcome just as Hank had been doing for the past three years. The major difference was Hank had been actively trying to kill himself with alcohol while Connor was actively just trying to live a normal life.

"That's very tragic, I'm sorry to hear it." Sitting back a little Jayden glanced down at the tablet and tried to find information on the car accident, but without knowing Connor's surname or his parents' names, it would be difficult to find the correct news story. "You were left without a family far too young, and you don't even know your true surname. How did you end up in the foster care program?"

"I'm not entirely sure how I ended up there; who put me there or why they did it. I just know that I grew up there with my brother."

"Brother." At that revelation Jayden's bright blue eyes lit up and a wave of understanding seemed to wash over him. Hearing about a surviving brother was all it took to take the hostility out of the experienced Director's body language. "A twin brother, I assume."

"Y-Yes, that's correct." Such an accurate and oddly specific observation without any immediate evidence was truly impressive. "How did you that know that he's my twin?"

"Because..." With a breathy sigh Jayden picked up the tablet and brought up a very peculiar image for Connor to view for himself. "Agent Lucas Brooks has been working in D.C. for about a year and a half now. I met him once, and I was very impressed with his skills, talent and knowledge as a detective despite his young age. I thought maybe you were in the same agent and had been hiding your true intentions. For that, I'm sorry of accusing you of deceptive practices."

"Lucas Brooks?" Connor took hold of the tablet and peered at the image of his own brother's face looking back to him all while ignoring the apology. There was no denying that he was looking at his missing twin brother, and that he was on the brink of being reunited with him at long last. "That's why I had such a difficult time locating him. He has a different surname than my own. I didn't even consider he'd taken on an alternate identity after leaving the city."

"Kid, you need to take a minute to really think about what's going on." Hank was picking up on something sinister that either Connor couldn't see or simply refused to acknowledge for a multitude of reasons. "CyberLife's bankruptcy and going defunct overnight isn't exactly a secret, even to people outside of Detroit. If he's been here all this time, and knows what's going on..."

"What're you implying?" The younger detective's grip subconsciously tightened around the tablet as he shot Hank a rather angry look. "We don't know what Lucas's assignment had been when he left Detroit, which means we don't know why he's refrained from making contact with me or returned to Detroit."

"I'm just saying that your brother not reaching out to you and working with the F.B.I. might be connected in some way. Maybe he's working on a case and any reunion with you might compromise his investigation."

"There is no way that just speaking with me and letting me know that he's okay could possibly affect his work." Connor returned the tablet to Jayden and sought the Director's help with his search for Lucas. He was so close to finally finding his brother and he could barely keep his emotions in check. "Please. There has to be a way for you to reach Lucas and ask for him to meet me somewhere before I leave the city. I need to know that my brother is okay. I just need to see him for one minute."

Jayden was quiet for a moment as he considered both Connor's plea and Hank's words of caution. It was hard to deny that Hank brought up a two very valid reasons to exercise caution with reaching out to the quiet detective, but it was even harder to deny that Connor had every right to know what happened to his brother after CyberLife intentionally separated them and severed their ability to communicate with one another for two years.

"I'll reach out to Agent Brooks and inform him that you're in the city and would like to meet with him." Sitting forward again Jayden gave Connor a cautionary glance and tried to ignore the way Hank dragged his palm along his bearded chin with anxious worry. "However, if he refuses to meet you then I strongly suggest you back off, return to Detroit, and wait for him to reach out to you later on."

"Is there something happening with Lucas that you're intentionally not telling me?" Perceptive as ever, Connor knew that Jayden was holding something important back. Now that he was so close to the end of his search Connor wasn't going to stand idle and do nothing just because someone else told him to do so. "If my brother is in any form of danger then I have every right to know what's going on. It's my responsibility to protect him."

"Brother or not, you know as well as I do that there are some things that can't be divulged about detectives or federal agents without risking any form of bias, possible contamination of evidence being analyzed or collected, or even corruption depending on the potential delicacy of an open investigation. Not to mention the chance that a detective's life could become endangered by such unexpected communications."

"I'm not going to do anything that'd compromise Lucas's safety, let alone his cases." The insult on Connor's tongue was thick. Returning the tablet to the desk Connor took a step back and decided to return to the hotel and begin searching for Lucas properly now that he knew his surname. "Considering our investigation has been properly closed, I'd like to return to the hotel and await further assignment at a later time."

"That's acceptable. You're both dismissed, but you both stay inside the hotel until I've given you the clearance to catch your flight back home." Jayden raised his brows in a knowing manner as he locked eyes with Connor. He knew that the rookie detective was going to remain as stubborn as he was devoted when it came to finally locating his missing brother. "Do I make myself clear, Detective Zale?"

"Yes, sir. Perfectly clear."

There was a little bite behind Connor's words that Hank hadn't heard before. The man didn't witness Connor previously losing his cool on Gavin and actually making the bully of a detective back down, but now that he could hear the strength in Connor's tone, he understood why the rookie detective seemed to be intimidated by his own anger. The young detective had a burning anger inside of him that was fueled by years of frustration and resentment.

"All right, you're dismissed." Jayden had a feeling that he'd be speaking to Connor again someday. He didn't want the detective leaving with a sour taste in his mouth because of their conflicting views on a single situation. "You both did great work with your investigation. I'll recommend that you're given proper recognition for all your hard work."

Connor didn't respond to the attempted flattery just as he ignored the apology. Instead, he made a move for the office door knowing that Hank would follow after him only when the Lieutenant was good and ready to take his leave.

Hank took a single step away from the desk and waited for Connor to be away from the door before looking back at Jayden. Whether it was years of experience on the force speaking to him or his paternal instinct, Hank couldn't be certain. All he did know was that Connor was putting himself in an emotionally precarious situation, and he didn't want to see the aftermath if disappointment was waiting for the rookie detective around the corner.

"The kid's been through a lot." Hank stated firmly, somberly. Even though he only knew Connor for a few months the older man already felt like he had known the rookie detective for years simply because Connor had already lived through a lifetime of tragedy and loss aging his soul beyond his actual years. "He's also proving to be very stubborn. Don't take it personally if he doesn't listen to you or anyone else for that matter."

"Keep an eye on him, Lieutenant."

Jayden needlessly urged as he watched Hank approaching the unlocked door. With a careful hand Jayden picked up his A.R.I. glasses and the tablet to resume his personal search only after the two visiting detectives had departed. Once he was alone in his office again, he began using the A.R.I. program to check through all of the details on the files and began comparing notes between Connor and Lucas for his own peace of mind.

There was something peculiar about the twin detectives and their personnel files from CyberLife that rubbed the highly trained Director the wrong way. Even though Jayden couldn't immediately put his finger on what was disturbing his thoughts or why he was so keen on watching over the two brothers, he knew that his initial meeting with Connor and Hank wasn't going to be his last.

Washington D.C.: Conrad Hotel

Determination filled Connor's soulful brown eyes as he resumed his frantic search for his missing brother on the laptop while Hank waited for their lunch to be delivered to their room. It was practically guaranteed that Connor was going to devote himself to his personal investigation the second he and Hank were back in their shared room. Even with Jayden's direct order to remain in the hotel and to not engage with Lucas until he was given clearance, Connor couldn't stop himself from delving even deeper into his search now that he had a proper full name to guide him. Connor's eyes were transfixed on the laptop screen while his A.R.I. glasses remained secured and deactivated in his blazer pocket to keep his search private. The rookie detective was taking every precaution he could to ensure that no one outside of the hotel room learned of his search and would possibly try to interfere with his work.

Hank kept to himself and alternated between peering through the hotel window and watching the news on the T.V. mounted on the far wall. Being a detective with far more experience than his younger partner meant it was easier for Hank to actually lay back and relax until he had been directly ordered to do otherwise by a superior officer. The man only budged from his spot when two knocks at the door confirmed the delivery driver had arrived and his lunch was ready.

"Good timing."

Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed Hank made his way over to the door, peered through the peephole and unlocked the door after he confirmed that it was a lone delivery driver standing outside the door. After paying for the pizza and tipping the driver for his swift delivery, Hank closed the door behind him with his foot then locked it up again before carrying the pizza over to the bed where Connor was obsessing over his search for Lucas.

"Pizza's here. I noticed you like the spicy stuff, so I got us jalapeno and mushroom." Hank confirmed as he placed the box on the table beside Connor's bed to try to entice the younger man into eating before he opened the mini fridge to get a couple of drinks for Connor and himself. "I hope it tastes as good as it looks."

Connor ignored the offered food and continued to ignore lunch in general even as Hank placed a can of soda down on the table beside his bed.

"Kid, you didn't have any breakfast, so I know you're hungry."

"I'm fine."

"Well, I'm not." Without any aggression Hank reached over and closed the laptop causing Connor to blink a few times then look up at him at last. "We both know that Lucas is alive and well right now. Eat your lunch, then I'll help you find a way to meet up with Lucas before we head back to Detroit."

"What about Director Jayden's orders?"

"Fuck his orders." The response was as quick as Hank's hands as the man flipped open the lid on the pizza box. "Like he said earlier, Detroit's out of his jurisdiction and we're native Detroiters."

"I don't believe that's exactly how jurisdiction limitations work, but I appreciate your enthusiasm."

Having even the smallest amount of cooperation was a relief. Hank helped himself to a slice of pizza and cracked open his can of soda before sitting down on his bed a few feet away from Connor. Just having something to eat was oddly grounding after enduring such a bizarre string of events earlier that morning.

"Not bad." Hank admitted as he took a bite of his pizza and chased it with a gulp of his cola. "Needs just a touch more garlic in the sauce, otherwise it's really good."

"Do you think Jayden knows something about Lucas that we don't?" Tentatively Connor picked up his own pizza slice and tried to focus on lunch rather than work. "He seemed adamant in me not finding Lucas, and he wouldn't give me a definitive reason as to why."

"I think he's just being careful." The lie was smooth, yet it left a rough feeling as it passed Hank's lips. "We just met the man, so it's not like we have any experience with how he thinks or handles cases."

"We know of his past successes." Connor countered as he finally took a bite of his pizza without flinching. The heat of the jalapenos didn't even faze him. "We should be able to determine his behavior based on the way he's handled delicate cases and situations in the past."

"People change, kid. Especially after twenty years pass."

"...You may be right."

"Try not to worry about Lucas." Hank knew he couldn't pretend that he wasn't just as curious about Lucas's activities as Connor was. "If he's made it this far while being out here alone, then he can last just as long without you two crossing paths."

"I want our paths to cross." The argument was as sound as it was logical. "I need to know what happened to my little brother after CyberLife sent him here. Hell, I want to know why CyberLife sent him to D.C. to begin with."

"Wait, you didn't find the reason for CyberLife sending him away even though you and Markus have searched through their records from top to bottom?"

"CyberLife had a lot of files to go through, and we're still looking." The rookie detective admitted as he gave the laptop beside him a side glance. "We do know that Lucas was working on something called 'Project Light', but we don't know what the project entailed."

"CyberLife is full of fuckin' snakes even after going out of business." Finishing off his first slice, Hank reached for a second slice and watched as Connor took only his second bite of his own pizza. "Markus been able to do anything for William yet?"

"He's confirmed that after the new rights and laws are enacted in March that New Jericho will hold a memorial for William and lay him to rest."

"And until then he's gonna' stay with Joel to make sure no one tries to disrespect his body or alter his memories." It was all Hank could think would happen to William considering deviants were still seen as machines in far too many eyes. "Right?"

"Correct. Markus is willing to trust Joel since Joel works with us at the precinct and has shown respect toward William in general."

"Sounds good." Hank did his best to keep Connor's mind off of Lucas and kept trying to get him to talk about work. "Are we missing anything back in the city?"

"There was a report of a deviant assaulted downtown, but Tina and Chris handled it. We won't have to do anything with their investigation when we return to Detroit tomorrow."

"Good. Less paperwork for us to fill out when we get back."

"Is there a reason you're trying to distract me from my search?" Connor didn't need the man to actually answer considering his question caught Hank off his guard and made him nearly choke on his soda. "It's as if you know something about Lucas that you've chosen to not tell me."

Hank couldn't bring himself to even try to lie to Connor, not after everything the rookie detective survived long before they had even met. If he had to tell Connor a momentarily painful truth to spare him the agony of a lie that'd last a lifetime, then so be it. He'd rather deal with Connor being angry, possibly even hating him, for a few days rather than have his young friend resent him for the rest of their lives.

"Okay, kid. It's like this." Needing a minute to gather his thoughts Hank wiped his hands off on a napkin then sat upright on the edge of his bed as he watched Connor do the same. As much as his gut told him to spare the younger man's feelings, Hank's paternal instincts told him to be open and honest. "The other night when you went to bed early with your migraine, I did some more digging through the CyberLife files that Markus found for you. I found some details on that 'Project Light' assignment that Lucas had been working on for a couple of years."

"What is 'Project Light'?" That was an answer Connor had been searching for but failed in succeeding with. "How did you find more details when I could not?"

"I have connections where you don't, and they were able to find me some details that I think only Jayden himself knew about. CyberLife had created 'Project Light' as a means of creating special androids that were perfect at everything they do." The ugly topic as Hank left a nasty flavor in Hank's mouth since he couldn't help but compare the project to the loathsome practice of eugenics in humans. "They started with the perfect foot solider, but he went rogue, and the project was shut down by Kamski himself when he found out they were using his personal android schematics and blueprints to create androids without his consent."

"That breach of trust must've been the reason why Kamski retired from the company ten years ago. He needed to keep his special designs away from greedy CyberLife engineers." Such a revelation was interesting, but not of Connor's immediate concern. "What does this have to do with Lucas?"

"Kamski thought he shut down the illegal program, but he only stalled it. After he used his own blueprints to create Markus as an ideal caretaker and someone to help take care of that Carl Manfred artist, Kamski discovered that the CyberLife engineering team were back at work making more 'perfect android' prototypes behind his back and off the books." Such deceptive practices were unfortunately not rare within powerful corporations. "They started with the 'RK-100', were stopped by Kamski, then Kamski himself made the 'RK-200' model with his special programming, and uh..."

"The 'RK-200' is Markus's unique model number." Connor was beginning to see a conspiracy within the very company he had been previously loyal to, and with that revelation he began to feel a little ill. "Kamski created Markus with the very design that had already gone rogue, which means Kamski knew... He knew about deviancy years before it even manifested. And if CyberLife continued to use those designs to create unique models in secret that continued to go rogue and deviate, then that means there are other unique models that are like Markus who are hiding somewhere in the world."

"Bingo. Lucas was assigned to track them down, bring them back to Detroit and... Well, you can guess the rest."

"If Lucas is here in D.C. and has been here for almost two years, then that means deviancy escaped Detroit long before CyberLife even admitted it existed." The disbelief was palpable as Connor paled and his hands clenched into tight fists atop his lap. "How... How many illegal prototypes were designed and activated?"

"In total, eight." Hank confirmed as he brought Connor up to speed without painting Lucas in a negative light. He had no idea what Lucas has been up to during his assignment and didn't want to prematurely pass judgement. "We know about Markus, and he was the second model created. And... we know about the eighth model, the one that looked like you, who attacked us back at the tower."

"The android that we destroyed did bear the model 'RK-800' on his blazer. That makes sense in an eerie and impersonal way." As he began realizing the severity of CyberLife's internal corruption, Connor began to realize how close he was to becoming a soldier fighting against the wrong people for the wrong cause. "What about the other six models?"

"That information belongs exclusively to Lucas. He may have found the remaining models, or he may still be looking for them as we speak."

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"Because 'Project Light' required the destruction of the seven illegal prototypes that were activated before Lucas left Detroit. Lucas was to destroy and analyze the code that let them deviate so CyberLife could release a perfect ninth model that'd be immune to deviancy." Hank admitted with a deep sigh of resignation. The Lieutenant knew what that meant Lucas was assigned to do and had a dark feeling that the truth behind the assignment was why Lucas refused to talk to Connor even though CyberLife was gone. "Lucas was sent out to hunt down and assassinate these deviants by CyberLife to cover CyberLife's crimes."

"...No." Connor refused to believe that his own brother would willingly take on such a grotesque assignment. "Lucas and I studied androids together. We saw how human they looked and sounded even before they deviated. There is no way that Lucas would intentionally harm androids, deviants or anyone else."

Hank didn't know how to respond to Connor's impassioned rebuttal. He didn't know Lucas, he didn't know anything about what Lucas was doing, and he couldn't be certain of how far into the assignment Lucas had gone or if he even chose to obey his assignment to begin with. It was hard to argue against a total stranger, let alone try to tell Lucas's own brother otherwise.

"We need to find him and speak to him directly." Having made up his mind Connor marched across the room to retrieve his A.R.I. equipment from his blazer pocket and use the advanced piece of technology to his advantage and finally reach the end of his search for missing brother. "I'm going to locate him and talk to him myself."

"How're you going to do that?"

"The less you know about my methods," Connor replied in a rather sinister tone as he placed the glasses over his eyes and pressed his gloved fingertip against the biometric security lock on the laptop. "the better it'll be for you in the long run."

"Kid, don't do anything that'll ruin your career or your life."

"I'm protecting my brother." Without looking away from his work Connor began his questionable search method and began to finally track down Agent Lucas Brooks to confront him face to face. "I'm not ruining anything."

Admitting momentary defeat was all that Hank could do. Trying to talk Connor out of his search would be a fruitless endeavor. There was nothing more that could be done beyond waiting for Connor to finally make his breakthrough and then support the rookie detective through whatever it was that was going to happen once the two brothers were finally reunited.

Federal Bureau of Investigation Headquarters: Director Jayden's Office

Director Jayden had been privately keeping tabs on the personnel files revolving around Agent Lucas Brooks after Hank and Connor had left his office. The man wasn't at all surprised to see that a security breach had been recently detected by his own A.R.I. program courtesy of an identical A.R.I. program only a few blocks away. The skilled and patient Director knew to keep his eyes on A.R.I. and to keep an eye on the two visiting detectives until they were on their flight back to Detroit. With his enhanced credentials Jayden could easily and remotely override the security breach and have the interfering second A.R.I. program shut down, traced, and have the user arrested for breaking into protected federal files, but he chose to not do anything beyond see which files were being investigated and why.

Jayden sat back in his chair and used A.R.I. to create large, holographic displays of the files all around him. In real time he could see which files were being accessed and read by the outside user. It was simple enough to deduce that Connor - the only other detective in the entire city with access to an A.R.I. program - was going to find Agent Lucas Brooks regardless of his previous orders to stand down on the search for the agent of interest.

"Why are the most stubborn detectives also the most resourceful detectives?"

Curiosity kept Jayden from interfering with the search as he watched Connor using his knowledge of the A.R.I. program to finally pinpoint Lucas's exact location by tracing Lucas's personal cell phone. Having an entirely unique phone and phone number provided by a now defunct company made it frighteningly real to isolate one phone from the other hundreds of thousands of active phones all over the city and steadily narrow down Lucas's location.

When Connor was able to finally locate where Lucas was currently residing Jayden could only smirk with unseen approval. He couldn't fault or damn Connor for trying so hard to find his own brother. Jayden knew that he'd do the same thing if one his own children were missing.

After a few seconds passed a text message was sent anonymously to Lucas's phone asking for him to meet with a nameless CyberLife contact at a public place in one hour's time. While Jayden could've easily intercepted the message or set up a small sting operation to apprehend the stubborn detective for disobeying orders, he chose to not interfere and let the twin brothers reunite with one another. There was no way to know what was going to be said until after they had the chance to actually speak.

Jayden sighed heavily and removed his A.R.I. glasses and allowed the holographic images to fade from sight. The loss of the bright, colorful images left his office appearing darker than it actually was, and the familiar twinge of a headache began to manifest. Leaning forward Jayden rested his elbows atop his desk and rubbed his fingertips along his sore temples as he tried to determine what he should do next, if anything at all.

There's was nothing else that the Director could do beyond sitting back and waiting for the aftermath of the reunion to resonate throughout F.B.I. headquarters.

"Connor, I hope that whatever it is you're hoping to find is something that you can handle."

United States National Arboretum: Front Entrance

The massive stone walled arboretum was unnervingly quiet as the snow fell all around the city's impressive display of natural beauty. Wintertime had left the popular arboretum as the only place in the city that was still full of lush greenery and life during the cold season. The interior exhibits of the arboretum were on full display year-round save for the big national holidays, and as such there were seemingly always visitors eager to wander about the historic and impressive display of nature to quell the wintertime blues that accompanied the dismal gray skies and dormant foliage elsewhere in the city. As the afternoon gave way to evening the arboretum began to close down and the day's guests departed slowly to go about their business elsewhere for the remainder of the cold, December night to celebrate the final day of the year.

Nervously Connor sat in the back of the idling autonomous cab as it remained parked near the front entrance of the arboretum. His message to Lucas asked for meet him in front of the building after the museum closed down for the evening, and he wasn't sure if Lucas was actually going to show. Using anonymity to send the message was a calculated risk as Connor couldn't be sure if Lucas would respond to the message unless he believed that it was a CyberLife representative seeking him out to give him new orders or a new assignment.

Hank stayed silent beside Connor in the back of the cab and stared out his side window to visually sweep over the area in search of Lucas. The man knew he wouldn't have been able to talk Connor out of his plans, which meant his only options were to remain in the hotel until Connor returned or join Connor and act as his moral support. It seemed to be far more beneficial to stay close to Connor to ensure that he had the full context of what was about to transpire without needing to get the answers out of Connor in the event the reunion didn't go as the rookie detective had hoped.

"He has to be close." Connor whispered as he anxiously danced his coin along his knuckles and between his tense hands. It was hard to keep his cool when he was so near the end of his search for his only brother. "I don't see why he wouldn't show up."

Before Hank could even think of anything to say, he caught sight of someone who looked exactly like Connor approaching the front doorway of the arboretum while glancing about nervously. There was no doubt that Hank was looking at Lucas in person for the very first time. He could see a few subtle differences between the twins; namely Lucas having dark green eyes, slightly darker hair and being about an inch taller than Connor, but there were no doubts that they were in fact brothers.

It was so surreal to see Lucas, and Hank knew that Connor had spotted Lucas at the exact moment he had.

"Lucas."

Opening the door beside him Connor pocketed his coin and rushed out of the vehicle and quickly made his way to where Lucas was standing. He didn't notice Hank following after him while keeping a respectful distance to allow for Connor to have a relatively private moment with Lucas while out in a public setting. As he neared his brother Connor saw Lucas turning slowly where he stood and then instantly freezing when he saw Connor approaching him quickly.

"Lucas, I've finally found you." Connor had to fight to keep his voice steady and at a normal pitch as he fought to restrain his excitement. Seeing Lucas in person was something he had only experienced in his dreams for almost two years. "You're okay!"

"Connor? I..." Lucas eyed his brother with what could only be described as disgust as he took a step back to keep some distance between himself and Connor. The thinning crowd of people exiting the arboretum didn't pay any mind to the twins confronting one another. "What in the hell are you doing here?"

"I came here to find you." The cold reaction stole Connor's enthusiasm. It was like a vice tightened around his heart in an instant. "I've been searching for you ever since CyberLife sent you away from Detroit. I needed to know that you're okay."

"You shouldn't have come here." The disgruntled brother turned away from Connor with a single aggressive motion and attempted to walk away. "You don't belong here or with CyberLife."

"CyberLife is gone, and I know work with the police as a detective." Connor nearly shouted as he followed after Lucas and grabbed his wrist to keep his brother from walking any further. "Everything's different in Detroit, and you don't have to obey CyberLife anymore. You can come home and be safe."

"Home? Detroit?" Scoffing a little Lucas shook his head and jerked his wrist out of Connor's grip as if he found his own brother's touch to be repulsive. "You can't be serious. I don't give a damn about CyberLife and I have no reason to return to Detroit."

"What're you saying?"

"I'm saying that you have no business coming out here and interfering with my life."

"But you're- We're brothers." There was a notable pain in Connor's voice as he tried to understand why Lucas was being to cruel toward him. "It's my responsibility to make sure that you're safe."

"We're not children anymore, Connor." Lucas snapped as he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets out of sight. The amount of anger in his words wasn't normal or just the result of being annoyed by Connor tracking him down. "I'm don't need you in my life. I never did."

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I just needed to know that you were okay." Connor tried again to reach his brother but was met with coldness and emotional walls. "I didn't know where you had gone or why CyberLife sent you away from the city. I've been worried sick for two years."

"It doesn't matter. I have my own life to live out here away from CyberLife, away from Detroit, and away from you."

Connor was stunned into a pained silence at the way Lucas absolutely rejected his very existence. In all of the times he imagined finally being reunited with Lucas, not once did Connor ever expect his own brother to respond so bitterly and push him away so aggressively. For the past two years all Connor wanted to do was reunite with his brother and pick up the pieces of their lives after CyberLife had separated them, but now he didn't know what to do or what to say.

"Go back to Detroit." Turning his back to Connor once more, Lucas continued on his way without any concern for his brother's wellbeing. "Don't contact me again. We have nothing more to discuss."

There was nothing more to be said despite Connor wanting to pour his heart out to his brother. All Connor could do was remain where he stood while Lucas left him behind without even so much as glancing back at him. Snow encircled Connor as the sun in the distance began to readily set, bathing the arboretum in a steadily darkening night. All the emotionally stricken detective could do was stand alone in the staggering shadows on the decorative stone columns while trying to understand how his own brother could so easily reject him without any spoken reason.

From where he had been standing near the edge of the parking lot Hank had witnessed the entire reunion and had heard what had been said. Slowly he walked toward Connor and just stood at the rookie detective's side to keep him company while Connor regained his composure.

Connor took in a deep, shuddering breath only to press his palm over his eyes to hide his tears. Showing any emotion was frowned upon courtesy of CyberLife's relentless training, and all Connor could think to do was fall back on his training to help him feel as if he had some form of control over his life. The more he fought to repress his emotional turmoil, the harder it became to appear composed.

"Connor? Are you-" Hank stepped back suddenly as Connor turned aggressively and began angrily pacing back and forth in front of the arboretum. The way Connor's face was entirely void of any emotion while his eyes were burning with pain told Hank everything he needed to know about his friend's current emotional state. "Kid, listen to me, you didn't do anything wrong."

The rookie detective ignored the comment and focused solely on his invisible path as he hastily walked back and forth with heavy footsteps. Connor's face was pale, his eyes were red, and his breaths were rapid, shallow and frantic. It was like Connor was trying to catch his breath after running a marathon while wading through waist deep mud.

"I know it's hard but try to breathe." Hank urged as he watched Connor on the verge of hyperventilating mid pace. The crushed detective was fighting to keep his tears restrained and not let the pain from the devastating remarks hurt him any further. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but it'll be okay. Son, you ne-"

"I'm NOT your son!" Connor blurted bitterly as he pushed Hank back and finally let his tears roll down his face. The potent pain turned to an absolute anger that Connor didn't want to even try to hide. "I'm nobody's son! I'm not even a brother! I'm not... I'm just- I'm nobody. I'm nobody, Hank."

Hank was quiet as he heard the raw agony in Connor's words. It was as he had just witnessed Connor ripping open his own heart and letting his feelings pour out without no intention of every putting them back. For a brief moment Hank swore that he saw a scared child standing before him begging to be reunited with his family after being separated and lost for so long. That was the instant that his own heart broke and all Hank could think to do was put his hand to Connor's shoulder to remind him that he wasn't alone. The second his palm made contact with Connor's shoulder Hank watched what little strength Connor had left give out as the younger man slowly lowered himself to the snowy sidewalk to rest on his knees and silently mourn the lost relationship he once had with his only brother.

Kneeling down before Connor to show his friend that he wasn't alone, Hank placed his palm gently on the back of Connor's head and just waited for the younger man to find the emotional resolve he needed to get back up. It didn't matter how long it took; the Lieutenant wasn't going to go anywhere and leave his friend behind.

"You're not nobody." Hank whispered kindly as he supported Connor during his emotional breakdown. "You're a damn fine detective. You're a good person who helped change the world for the better. And most importantly, to me anyway, you're my friend. You are somebody, Connor. And you're important to a lot of people who care about you and just want you to be happy, even if you can't see it or believe it for yourself."

Connor returned his hand to his bloodshot eyes before he began to quietly cry and find a way to overcome his pain when enough time had passed.

"It doesn't feel like it right now, but you will be okay."

Keeping his hand in place Hank peered past Connor and looked for any sign of Lucas, but he failed to see where the estranged agent had gone. The only motion around was the windswept snow spiraling around the two detectives who remained alone before the now closed arboretum.

"I promise you that in the end, everything will be all right."

-next chapter-