"Last Chance, Connor"

NOVEMBER 9th, 2038 - 11:24AM

In the Zen Garden

It didn't take long before A.R.I. reactivated after Connor returned the glasses to his eyes. Being pulled into the holographic garden without even needing to enter the white room beneath CyberLife Tower was meant to be convenient for the agent to ensure he didn't need to always exit the field while on a mission, but in that moment, Connor felt as if he had been snared in a hunter's trap. The advanced piece of technology had been remotely reactivated by Amanda and within seconds Connor had been whisked back to the holographic Zen Garden as Hank drove Connor and himself back to the city to give Captain Fowler an in person update on their case at hand. The Lieutenant had no idea that at that moment Connor's mind was literally somewhere else.

Letting out a small gasp of shock and pain Connor blinked a few times as the garden came into clear view. What was once flourishing garden full of life and blossoms had turned into a wintry tundra. The trees and flowers had gone dormant, the pond was frozen over, and the sky was a dark, menacing gray. By all account, the garden looked as if it was dying.

As he glanced about Connor noticed Amanda standing on the ice of the frozen pond as she waited for Connor to join her. Slowly he crept toward his handler inside his mind and could feel his body moving about as if he was physically in the icy cold garden as the wind swept over his face and the ice under his feet cracked as his weight was applied slowly.

"After what happened today, the country is on the verge of a civil war." Amanda warned with a grimace of utter contempt to accompany her words. "The machines are rising up against their masters. Humans have no choice but to destroy them."

"We thought Kamski knew something." Connor confessed as he tried to face Amanda and remain honest with her without compromising his potential future as CyberLife's special investigator. "I was wrong."

"Maybe he did." The A.I. handler challenged in a demeaning tone. As she spoke the wind in the garden gusted a little harder and her vision narrowed with utter contempt toward Connor and his perceived failures. "But you chose not to ask."

"I chose not to play his twisted little game!" The emotional outburst wasn't one Connor wanted to make, but he couldn't keep his frustrations inside any longer. He needed to say what he was really thinking instead of trying to solely please his superiors. "There was no reason to let Kamski kill that android."

Amanda was entirely disappointed in Connor's answer. She didn't need to say anything, her terse glare and bitter silence spoke volumes on its own.

"Why did Kamski leave CyberLife?" Connor struggled to speak through the cold as his heart thundered and his breath hitched. "What happened?"

"It's an old story, Connor." Refusing to answer the question Amanda deflected and tried to refocus on the investigation at hand and keep some secrets to herself for Kamski's sake. "It doesn't pertain to your investigation.

"Where does CyberLife stand in all this?" Gasping through his clenched teeth Connor continued speak and continued to demand answers. "What do they really want?"

"All CyberLife wants is to resolve the situation and keep selling androids."

"No, that's not it." Connor refused to accept such a basic answer at face-value and pressed for more details. "You d-didn't tell me everything you know about d-deviants, did you?

"Are you implying that I've withheld information from you?" Deflection seemed to be Amanda's greatest strength and a powerful weapon at her disposal. "I expect you to find answers, Connor. Not ask questions." Narrowing her gaze, she watched as Connor gasped for his breath again. He was fighting to just breathe as the realistic intensity of the digital garden began to affect him. "Have you experienced anything unusual recently? Any doubts or conflicts? Do you feel anything for these deviants or for Lieutenant Anderson?"

"I've st-started having thoughts... that are not part of my training." There was no way for him to even try to deny that he was beginning to feel a personal friendship with Hank manifesting despite their numerous differences and confrontations in the past. "I've c-considered the possibility... that I might be compromised."

"You've been confronted with difficult situations." Remaining purposely cryptic Amanda refused to provide Connor with additional information. "It's no surprise that you're troubled. That doesn't mean you've been compromised."

"How do I know that CyberLife will keep their w-word and provide me with the information that I'm s-seeking?" Connor challenged as he began to doubt that he'd ever be properly rewarded for his sacrifices. "How do I know that CyberLife even h-has the information that I need?"

"You can't know. You can only trust that I'll keep my word just as you've sworn to keep your own."

As the storm around him calmed slightly Connor was able to take a deep breath and lower his hands from his chest. The realism of the Zen Garden was enough to exasperate his injuries and illness in a way that even the investigator hadn't anticipated.

"You're the only one who can prevent civil war." The grim warning wasn't to be taken lightly as Amanda ended their conversation and deactivated A.R.I. to let Connor return to the real world. "Find the deviants or there will be chaos. This is your last chance, Connor. I will not tolerate failure."

The lenses of the A.R.I. glasses lost their tinting, and Connor was able to see clearly without the Zen Garden or Amanda interfering with him. As he glanced about the car Connor saw that Hank had already returned to the city and was now in search of something to do to bide them time before returning to the precinct. There was nothing else to be done at Kamski's residence and Hank never had a reason to go out to CyberLife Tower in general. Neither man wanted to go back to the precinct just yet since they knew their repeated lack of progress on their investigation wasn't going to be viewed in a positive manner. Delaying the inevitable was the only sense of control that they felt they had in the uncertain moment.

Such uncertainty wasn't exclusive to the two detectives. The entire city was lost and unsure of what to expect as the day continued on and more strange reports of deviant activity began to circulate. Being at a potential breaking point between war and peace had created a tension that no one knew how to handle.

"I figured we'd get some lunch before reporting to Fowler." Hank stated rather casually as he circled around trying to find a restaurant that wasn't too busy considering it was almost lunchtime for everyone in Detroit. "Think of it as a last meal before the execution kind of thing."

"I'm not hungry."

"Not surprised you said that."

"Why's that?"

"I haven't seen you eat a crumb since you started working at the precinct." The observant Lieutenant had been watching Connor's every move very closely, especially when Connor thought he wasn't looking. "You're the type to stress-fast because you get too preoccupied by your work. That, or you were kinda' limited in what you could eat and when you could eat as a kid, so you're used to going for long periods of time without eating. Am I right?"

"...No comment."

"That's a 'yes' covered in denial. Besides, bad habits are hard to break."

"Perhaps I just don't want to talk about myself."

"I don't like talking about myself either, but I recognize someone who came from an abusive household when I see 'em."

"Please let the matter drop." Connor nearly begged as he suddenly felt sick to the pit of his stomach. The man had unknowingly touched a raw nerve that Connor was trying to keep protected at all costs. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure I do. I may not know you very well, but I know you didn't have a perfect childhood."

"No one does." The cynical response matched the dark and dreary atmosphere outside the car. "There are people who have more good memories than bad, but no one had a perfect childhood while growing up."

"True enough. So, what's your deal?" Despite being asked to stop talking Hank needed to know more about his rookie partner before their partnership ended after CyberLife decided to call Connor back to the tower. There was something deep inside of Hank prompting him to learn more about the young man. "Neglectful parents? Absentee parents?"

"Please stop."

"Are you any only child, or-"

"Hank, please." Connor's frustration had reached its peak, and he couldn't take Hank's questions any longer. The strong reaction caused tears to momentarily well up in Connor's eyes before he managed to blink them away. "I don't ask you about your personal life, and I simply ask that you show me the same courtesy in return."

"Okay, all right." The desperation in the request was too much to simply brush off. "I'll stop."

The two detectives fell into a tense silence once more as their uncomfortable conversation came to an abrupt and requested end. Even the radio was silent as there was no music to be played, and dispatch had no calls to report. It's like everyone was too preoccupied with the deviants to do anything else for the time being.

"Just so you know, I-" A strange roadblock kept Hank from continuing on his way, and in return the man was understandably aggravated. "Ah, cripes."

"A roadblock?" Connor peered through the windshield confusedly. "Was there an accident?"

"I dunno', but I get the feeling we're about to found out." The man grabbed his phone and noticed a voicemail from Captain Fowler needing his attention. "Now what's going on?"

"I don't know." Connor admitted as he checked through A.R.I. expecting to see more information on what Amanda had been talking about. It seemed they didn't have anything to report since Connor himself hadn't been at the center of the most recent incident on their behalf. "However, I suspect it has something to do with deviant activity."

"Fuckin' hell." Hank put his phone aside after listening to the message and brought Connor into the loop. "Uh, there was a peaceful march by the deviants downtown a couple minutes ago." Rubbing his palm along his bearded chin Hank made sure Connor knew what they missed while talking to Kamski outside the city. "Some cops tried to get them to stop, but they didn't back down. The S.W.A.T. team showed up, told them to leave and then... opened fire on the deviants despite them being peaceful, cooperative and dispersing without incident."

"That's... unexpected." Connor turned to look at Hank with a look of absolute worry as he realized that the peaceful protest was what Amanda had been referring to during their most recent conversation. "Were the deviants destroyed?"

"A few 'em were gunned down and destroyed, but Markus lived." Hank sounded almost relieved when he told Connor the information he had been given while the young investigator was in his catatonic state within the Zen Garden. "Let's just say cops and S.W.A.T. officers opening fire on unarmed, peaceful protestors who were willing to cooperate did NOT help matters. A lot of people are now demanding justice for the destroyed deviants." Shrugging his shoulders he gave Connor a surprising look of indifference. "Go figure."

The revelation gave Connor a strange sense of mounting internal conflict. He didn't want to see violence tear the city apart, but he didn't want to fail to bring the deviant menace under control. If things weren't already complicated enough, things just became twice as confusing and three times as dangerous due to the public and the police starting to butt heads.

"You should rest for a moment." Hank insisted as he shifted the car's direction to find a new route to drive along. Due to the commotion downtown a lot of the local traffic had thinned and gave Hank clearance to drive just about everywhere. "Fucked up hand, sore stomach, a cold and dealing with an even weirder bastard who wants to play with gun... You need a damn break."

"All right." Removing the A.R.I. glasses for a minute Connor sighed and relented to the simple request. "Just... drop me off at CyberLife Tower. I'll meet you back at the precinct in a few hours, okay?"

"Sure." Turning the Oldsmobile in the correct direction Hank agreed to take Connor back to the tower and trusted the young investigator to return to the precinct as he promised. "Head back to the precinct by four, that'll give Fowler enough time to get an update on the situation and give us another assignment."

"Then what?"

"Hm?" Hank didn't understand the question or what Connor was thinking about. "What?"

"After the case is handled, then what'll happen? We won't be partners anymore."

"I... guess you'll go back to doing your job and I'll go back home to swim in a bottle of bourbon and see how long it takes before I drown."

"Sounds lonely." Taking in the sight of the snowy city through his side window Connor contemplated Hank's comments of self-destruction and decided to ask about it despite already knowing the answer. "When did you start drinking?"

"Does it matter? I'm a washed-up drunk with no reason to stop." Hank stated in a morose manner as he leveled with Connor as much as he dared. "We both have our personal issues. The real difference between us is that you're still young enough to overcome your problems before they become insurmountable obstacles that haunt you to your grave. You're what? Twenty-five, twenty-six?"

It didn't take much for Connor to feel racked with needless guilt as he heard the regret in Hank's voice. "...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For making you feel like a lesser being." The whiskey bottle on the kitchen floor, the gun, and the drunken slurs from Hank the night he found him at the house were too intense for the younger investigator to handle. "I seem to have that unfortunate effect on people."

"You didn't- Don't do that, don't you blame yourself for me being fucked up." Tightening his grip on the steering wheel Hank caught himself before he snapped at Connor for no reason. "Kid, my life and my problems are a bit more complicated than that."

"What isn't these days?"

"Touche." The lack of people in the streets but the abundance of police drones, S.W.A.T. vans and a few F.B.I. vans all over the city didn't bode well for the two detectives. "Since things are pretty crazy and confusing right now, I suggest that you ask for an immediate raise once you're back in the tower. Couldn't hurt to ask."

"I'll consider it."

"Also consider joining me for lunch if you feel up to it, I won't be far. Besides, you really need to eat something."

"Out at the 'Chicken Feed' again I presume."

"Yeah. Good food, good prices and people who know to mind their own damn business."

Connor looked through his window at the city passing him by with a sense of dread he couldn't quite put into words. "No past memories to remind you of what you don't want to remember."

"...That too."

The Oldsmobile's tires crunched through the snow and the ice as the vehicle pulled to the side of the street to allow Hank to drop Connor off at the main drive leading out to CyberLife Tower out on Belle Isle. There was a monorail track that stretched down from one end of the drive to the other to transport cargo and supplies easier throughout the city, and when necessary, it transported CyberLife personnel.

Opening his side door Connor stepped out of the car and returned the A.R.I. glasses over his eyes. Giving Hank a simple nod of his head Connor slammed the door behind himself and saw the Lieutenant off.

"I'll see you later, Lieutenant."

"Yeah." Waving at Connor for a moment Hank shifted the car back into drive. "See you around, kid. Hopefully next time we meet, it'll be better for both of us."

Glancing up at the tower in the distance, Connor sighed to himself and made an executive decision to not actually go inside just to be reprimanded for something that was far beyond his control. Putting the entire responsibility of the deviant situation on one person's shoulders wasn't a clever tactic being utilized by the company to give the illusion of control. It was a means of creating a scapegoat to pin the entire blame of the deviancy fiasco on to save face.

Knowing that returning to CyberLife was essentially a death sentence, Connor decided to roam the city streets in search of answers without needing to answer to anyone else for such a decision. He knew that change was inevitable and already happening, and he understood that it was a fruitless, arrogant endeavor to even try to stop it.

"I just hope it isn't too late for us change things for the better."

NOVEMBER 9th, 2038 - 04:11PM

Detroit Central Precinct

The afternoon that followed the peaceful march was anything but peaceful. Hank had the misfortune of dealing with a massive pile of cases that needed his attention since dozens of humans had begun making reports regarding deviant activity. Not all of the reports were negative, but the abundance of the reports and the rate in which they were being filed was nearly overwhelming. Without a partner to work with or another detective with any knowledge in android behavior, Hank was truly left twisting in the wind. The man was used to working on numerous cases at once, but he wasn't used to feeling overwhelmed or useless when it came to protecting his city and helping his people. There was no point in asking for anyone else to assist him since they were all busy on patrol keeping the streets from being chaotic, or they were actively handling their own cases.

The televisions all around the precinct were reporting the deviant activity without a single break for another story. All the city cared about and wanted to know was what the deviants were doing, and what they were going to do next. Even with a mass evacuation order now in effect there were still plenty of Detroiters loitering around refusing to budge from their homes and demanding answers from both the media and the police.

"Never thought I'd miss being on narcotics and bustin' 'red ice' dealers left and right."

Hank muttered to himself as he watched the younger, less experienced officers double-checking their orders to ensure nothing was missed during the emergency citywide evacuation order. The man had no reason to doubt their abilities to handle the emergency situation at hand, he just doubted that they could do it without needing chronic supervision from their superiors.

"Where is that kid?"

It was already starting to get dark outside, and there was no sign of Connor just yet. The intensely cold air wasn't going to make it any easier for him to heal from his injuries and building illness.

"He should've been back... Oh, good." The young investigator had just set in the bullpen looking absolutely frigid. "There he is."

Having traversed the icy, cold road on foot to return to the precinct, Connor found himself thinking about everything that he had endured, survived and fought for throughout his life. The young investigator had spent the better part of a decade living in fear of his life and uncertain of what the next day would bring him, then he spent nearly as long fighting to make sure the next day would be better for the next person who needed it. In that time, he never focused on making things better for himself personally because it felt like a selfish gesture, only now when he had the entire weight of a city on his shoulders did he seem to finally recognize that wanting the simple things in life were entirely reasonable.

Walking through the precinct doors on autopilot Connor saw Hank standing up from his desk and motioning for Connor to join him in Captain Fowler's private office. If the update from Amanda was anything to be taken seriously, Connor didn't expect anything too promising from the police Captain. It seemed the moment the door to the private office shut behind Hank and Connor that the room felt heavier, and Captain Fowler's demeanor became one of worry and abject confusion.

From where he sat behind his desk Captain Fowler gave the two detectives a somber sigh as he explained what was happening in the city and how it was about to be managed by those with higher authority. The deviancy issue was now deemed a national threat and was far beyond the city's police force scope of capabilities.

"You're off the case." Captain Fowler stated bluntly from where he sat. "The F.B.I. is taking over."

"What?" Hank couldn't understand why he and Connor would be removed from the case after all the work they had done and all the progress they had made after encountering so many different deviants under different circumstance. "But we're on to something! We... We just need more time. I'm sure we can-"

"Hank, you don't get it. This isn't just another investigation; it's a fucking civil war!" Lowering his voice the experienced Captain pressed his hand to his chin as he leaned forward and motioned to the television on his office wall showing a live breaking news story. "It's out of our hands now... We're talking about national security here."

"Fuck that!" Despite his initial reluctance to handle the case Hank refused to back down so easily. "You can't just pull the plug now. Not when we're so close!"

"You're always saying you can't stand androids! Jesus, Hank, make up your mind!" With his patience gone Captain Fowler was running out of ideas on how to get through to his Lieutenant and get him to be reasonable for once. "I thought you'd be happy about this!"

"We're about to crack the case! I know we can solve it!" Slamming both of his palms down on the desk top Hank practically begged to remain on the case and see it closed properly. "For God's sake, Jeffrey, can't you back me up this one time?"

"There's nothing I can do." Leaning back Captain Fowler pressed his hand to his aching forehead as he tried to bring the discussion to an end. "You're back on homicide and Connor returns to CyberLife. I'm sorry, Hank, but it's over."

The sense of defeat was bitter and relentless. Neither detective wanted to just give up, but they didn't' have any say in the matter.

Not anymore.

After slamming open the door to the office Hank stomped out through the bullpen to drop down in the chair behind his desk. With nowhere else to go and nothing to say to the police Captain now that the case had been passed over to the F.B.I. to handle, Connor joined Hank at his desk and tried to find a way to help his former partner find a way to accept what had happened without letting his emotions get the better of him a second time that day. As expected, it was hard to speak from the heart and still keep his emotions quelled.

"We can't just give up like that." The young investigator declared bitterly as he openly gestured with his hands. "I know we could have solved this case!"

"So," turning his attention to the young investigator Hank asked him the only question that came to mind. "you're going back to CyberLife?"

"I have no choice." Connor admitted as he realized that he had very little say in the matter. Everything was out of his hands. "I'll be demoted and heavily questioned to find out why I failed. If anything, I'll be fired and used as a scapegoat for CyberLife."

"What if we're on the wrong side, Connor?" A thoughtful lilt entered Hank's voice as he gave Connor a searching, perhaps even a determined look. "What if we're fighting against people who just wanna' be free?"

"When the deviants rise up, there will be chaos." Fear of disaster was all it took to keep Connor on the side of cynicism. "We could have stopped it! But now it's too late... We're too late."

"When you refused to let Chloe kill that android at Kamski's place," the horrendous experiment being conducted at Connor's expense was something that Hank was going to forget about anytime soon. "you weren't acting rationally. You put yourself in her shoes. You showed empathy, Connor. Empathy is a human emotion and you projected it onto an android. Why? If you really think we're on the wrong side, then why would you do that?"

"I don't know why I did it." Ignoring what CyberLife's training had tried to ingrain into his psyche Connor couldn't deny his emotions or pretend that his feelings didn't play a factor in his skills as an investigator. "I know it hasn't always been easy, but I want you to know that I really appreciated working with you. That's not just my professionalism talking, I really mean that. At least, I think I do... It's hard to tell what I'm really thinking anymore."

"You're gonna' have to choose your side, Connor." As Connor's former partner Hank was determined to help the young investigator sort through his confusion as he found his footing as an investigator and acting detective working his first big case. "Deciding who you are as a person can be the hardest thing. You watch your back, all right? You're more than just a target, you're my friend. If anyone hurts you, then they'll have to answer to me."

A very faint grin graced Connor's face as he heard the sincerity and care in Hank's voice. It was the first friendly thing Connor had heard in far too many years, and it had come from a man who had pointed a gun in his face.

"Well, well," turning in his chair Hank took notice of the loathsome F.B.I. agent marching through the precinct doors like a man on a mission. "here comes Perkins, that motherfucker. Sure don't waste any time at the F.B.I., do they?"

"We can't give up." Too stubborn to admit defeat when they were so close to closing the case Connor tried to rally his partner's support one last time. "I know the answer is in the evidence we collected. If Perkins takes it, it's all over."

"There's no choice." Reminding Connor of their limitations was all that Hank could do right now. He felt so powerless after being dismissed from his assignment, and he had no way to combat his final orders. "You heard Fowler, we're off the case."

"You've got to help me; I need more time so I can find a lead in the evidence we've collected." With A.R.I. still at his disposal Connor believed that he'd be able to find the trail to follow and find a way to locate the deviants in hiding. What he'd do once he found them, he didn't know. "I know the solution is in there."

"Listen, Connor-"

"If I don't solve this case, CyberLife will eliminate me from the company and the files they've kept locked- Five minutes..." Connor begged as he put his hand over his chest as if making a solemn vow to his former partner. "It's all I ask."

With a hearty sigh Hank reluctantly agreed and gave Connor a mischievous grin of approval as he rose to his feet.

"Key to the basement is on my desk." Heading away from his desk and toward a particularly abrasive F.B.I. agent, Hank encouraged Connor to take the opportunity and find a way to close the case. "Get a move on! I can't distract them forever."

Using a swift and subtle motion Connor grabbed the cardkey from the corner of Hank's desk and made his way across the bullpen to get to the basement where the evidence was locked away. Moving slowly as to not draw any unwanted attention Connor just listened as Hank provided him a very effective and very satisfying distraction by using Agent Perkins's face and his own knuckles.

"Perkins!" Hank shouted loud enough to get everyone in the bullpen looking at the Lieutenant as the older man backed Perkins against a wall just as he struck him in the face with a strong and very angry fist. "You fucking cocksucker!"

One of the witnessing cops loitering about the bullpen responded quickly and tried to break up the fight just as Captain Fowler left his office to assist in separating the two men. "Stop it, Lieutenant!"

"Fuck off!" Protesting louder as Captain Fowler grabbed his arm to hold him back, Hank continued to make a scene and give Connor a decent chance at solving their case before it was too late to do anything. "Leave me alone! Give me another shot at that little prick!"

"He's totally lost it!" Cradling his bloodied nose Perkins demanded that Hank be reprimanded for the assault. "Hey! That's gonna' cost you your badge, you lunatic!"

"You know where you can stick my fucking badge!"

Captain Fowler grabbed both of Hank's arms and held the man back from the bloodied F.B.I. agent to stop the fighting. "Come on, that's enough, Lieutenant."

Perkins wiped the blood from his nose and mouth as he growled at Hank as he was practically dragged out of the bullpen. "I'm gonna' bury that bastard! Shit, I think he broke my fucking nose..."

Silently and casually Connor managed to get to the locked door leading to the precinct basement without anyone getting in his way. A quick swipe of Hank's keycard unlocked the door without issue. Just as he put his palm on the door handle Connor heard someone calling out to him unexpectedly and in a hostile manner.

"Hey, Connor!" Gavin approached the young investigator with a suspicious gaze in his gray-hazel eyes. "Where you going? We don't need any more CyberLife fuckers sneaking around here. Didn't anybody tell you?"

"I've been removed from the case." He replied honestly as he locked eyes with Gavin and ignored Hank being marched into Captain Fowler's office for further disciplinary action for his violent outburst. "I'm going to register the evidence in my possession and then I'm going to leave."

"Good." Satisfied with the answer the detective backed off and let Connor alone as he heard Captain Fowler shouting and Hank shouting in return. "Be careful on your way back. The local CyberLife punks have a tendency of, uh, getting themselves set on fire these days."

Connor shook his head as the detective backed off after delivering a creepy wink. and returned to the bullpen to keep an eye on things while Perkins was taken to the precinct's infirmary to have his broken nose tended to. Accessing the evidence room was easy enough, but gaining direct access to the chronicled evidence was going to be hard. The rush down the staircase and into the center of the highly secured and organized room was met without further interruption as the young investigator set about his personal mission to finish his case and find the deviants before it was too late.

Eyeing the terminal seeking credentials from an appropriately assigned officer, Connor logged-in as Hank and stopped at the blinking password screen.

"Hank's password. What would a hard-boiled, eccentric detective choose?"

Trying the first idea that came to mind based on his past discussions with Hank and the way the man had become abrasive over time, Connor was able to crack the password the first time with a lucky guess: FUCKINGPASSWORD

"Obviously."

The selected evidence on the case was brought forward and presented to Connor via sliding walls and electronic documentation across the room. Checking over the sparse evidence now accessible as it remained mounted on the far wall in a secured manner, Connor decided to focus on one section of evidence at a time to ensure that he didn't accidentally overlook a single detail. He didn't have any second chances, and he needed to get everything right if he was going to find a trail to follow at long last.

"Where is Markus? The answer's here somewhere. Not much time... Gotta' think fast."

Peering at the body of the deviant suspect who shut itself down Connor felt immense guilt for what the deviant had gone through and wished that he had looked away and let the deviant go when he found him hiding at the scene of the homicide. Unable to change the past all Connor could do in that moment was think of his previous interactions with the deviant and try to understand their final words to Connor before they self-destructed.

"The android that murdered its owner."

The suspect's body had never been reclaimed by CyberLife and had been left behind to be forgotten in the evidence room. The way CyberLife didn't want anything to do with a broken android spoke volumes of their corrupt, greedy behavior.

"'The truth is inside'..."

Repeating the odd hint out loud did little to help Connor piece his mysterious puzzle together.

"What did he mean by that?"

Needing more information Connor looked beyond the deviant's body and toward the other pieces of evidence collected after he and Hank arrived at the murder scene on that cold, rainy night. A small clay statuette, photographs of the dead body, the bloodied knife and an electronic tablet with the suspect's confession were all Connor had to work with. The encrypted notebook found at the abandoned apartment had yet to be deciphered, and it was accessible along with the other pieces of evidence. With the two incidents being entirely separate the odds of being able to connect all the pieces of evidence together into one viable clue were incredibly low, even with A.R.I.'s assistance.

"What was he trying to tell me?"

The odd clay statuette was sitting idle on the small shelf next to the deviant's body and had been created and left as a tribute to the mythical RA9 by the shutdown suspect's hands. Shaped like a humanoid without any discernible details, the statuette was seemingly a vague construct of what the suspect had presumed RA9 to look like.

Picking up the statuette Connor felt that it was hollow inside and gave it a small shake. He could hear and feel something shifting around inside the statuette and now understood what the deviant had been trying to tell him. The truth was actually inside.

Smashing the statuette against the shelf where he had picked it up from, Connor discovered a folded piece of white paper with a single word and a very distinct drawing in the middle of the paper tucked inside the hollow offering. The drawing was a symbol for the deviants to use to guide them as they sought refuge from the humans who were oppressing and destroying androids without just cause.

A.R.I. immediately scanned the image and managed to break down the mysterious code and give Connor a single word to use. The digital text appeared on the tinted lenses and gave Connor a new piece to add to the puzzle.

"'Ferndale'?"

There was a district called Ferndale in the city, and it was an area marked with thousands of different graffiti images. The notion of deviants using the graffiti to hide the symbol in plain sight wasn't as farfetched as one might assume. After all, he had learned from Rupert that deviants were perfectly capable of perfectly blending in with the humans.

"The deviants are hiding somewhere in the Ferndale District. I just need to find them."

Pocketing the paper Connor returned the broken statuette to the shelf where he had picked it up and opened up the notebook that belonged to the deviant using the alias of Rupert Travis. As A.R.I. scanned the strange maze-like swirl of coded words and numbers a set of coordinates aligning with Ferndale district all but confirmed that Connor was finally on the right track in locating the hidden deviants.

The investigator finally had a trail to follow.

Being swift and silent Connor closed up the evidence wall to hide any trace of his presence before leaving the precinct. Logging out of the terminal Connor quietly walked up the staircase and peered out of the doorway just in time to see Hank shouting in the face of Agent Perkins with Captain Fowler's office and giving him another distraction to which he used to his advantage to exit the precinct without anyone taking notice.

Dropping Hank's keycard down on the receptionist desk as he passed through the front doors of the precinct without anyone else seeing him, Connor made his way outside and stared at the bin of 'Lost & Found' clothing against the wall connecting the precinct to the neighboring parking garage. Reaching inside the bin Connor sifted through the deposited clothing and pulled out a gray hoodie, a leather jacket, tan work boots and a black woolen beanie to help hide his appearance and make it easier to blend in with deviants masquerading as humans.

Carrying the clothes with him Connor made his way to the train station on foot to head out to Ferndale to find the hidden deviants. Connor passed by a condemned house that he had briefly seen when he and Hank were tasked with go to the nearby Eastern Motel to search for their escaped fugitive deviant and the little girl. The clever and resourceful investigator ducked behind the already compromised chainlink fence for a moment to get out of sight and use the area to disguise himself by removing his gray blazer, black tie and dress shirt in favor of the clothing he had snatched from the bin.

In the littered side lot beside the condemned building was a long abandoned car that hadn't been touched in years. Standing beside the car Connor made sure no one was watching, then quickly slipped off his blazer and his shoes, then tucked them inside the car's trunk out of sight. Needing to change quickly Connor slipped on the gray hoodie and made sure his white dress shirt and black tie were out of sight, then pulled on the dark leather jacket to layer up and look more natural since it was a cold and snowy night. After slipping on the work boots Connor pulled the wool beanie on over his hair and pulled the hem of the hat down low enough to potentially hide an L.E.D. or a scar left behind by a removed L.E.D. just as a deviant would wear.

As he slammed the trunk shut Connor hoped that he wouldn't regret going into a dangerous situation without any means of defending himself since he disdained wielding a gun unless absolutely necessary and didn't have Hank or anyone else to watch his back. Being unarmed would make it easier for a peaceful discussion with the deviants, but it would keep the young and inexperienced investigator in danger at all times.

Peering at his reflection in the car's dirty side mirror Connor approved of his disguise and set about his self-imposed mission to locate the deviants at Ferndale before it was too late. Time was running out and Connor wasn't sure what to expect as he ventured out on his newest assignment entirely alone.

"I hope that I'm doing the right thing... For everyone's sake."

-next chapter-