#but with Data and Connor DBH instead of Nick

[welcometokelll]

Yellow-eyed, disconcertingly pale androids with hearts of gold my beloved

[dbhilluminate]

DBH: Illuminate- Hit and Run (part 1)

Characters: Connor-50 / Z, Dennis, Nick, Kate, Connor-51 / RK, Axl  Word Count: 2,598

Axl spots a trine of RK800's entering Detroit on a bus inbound from Belle Isle- Kate moves to tail them with the intention of finding out why they're there, but is spotted by Connor's doppelganger and forced to do something she regrets in order to escape.

( Chapter Art by triple_jays_art , Co-authored by grayorca15)

Previous Chapter

• Chapter Index • Characters •

--------

November 12th, 2038 - 12:54 PM

By the end of the journey, Dennis almost wished their special travel privileges had been revoked. Standing at the back of the bus might have been degrading for models of their ( dubious ) stature- compared to that, sitting wedged into an armchair-style seat wasn’t any more pleasant, but it was useless to rue any of it at this point, like insisting on taking the window seat in spite of irrelevant comfort. HIs partner squinted and placed a hand on the glass to see further out the window in anticipation of what their first glimpse of Detroit would entail. Thus far, the rolling expanses of countryside —field after field of unharvested late-season corn— had yet to give way to congested metropolitan sprawl. Nick sighed and turned back to him in disappointment. "How much longer? Why is it so far? I didn't know it would take so long."

Such questions were unsuspicious to the rest of the tour bus’ human group, but exhausting to have to answer ten times over. Instead of responding with his usual weariness, Dennis skimmed ahead to the next news article on his tablet, slouched down in his seat with his elbows bowed and his ankle crossed over one knee. He cut enough of a surly image he hadn’t been bothered by other passengers looking for small talk, though his covert attire helped throw off suspicion. In his Michigan State Wolverines hoodie, blue jeans, and ski cap crammed down over his brow, Dennis looked like just another laze about young adult catching the bus back to the city. He’d even left the laces of his boots untied to better help sell the idea. With every lazy turn the bus made they swayed one way, then the other. Dennis ran through a few possible responses before he opted for a casual nudge of his toe against his partner’s knee. This might have been a bearable arrangement, if only he would quit fidgeting every five minutes.

“You lookin’ for a distraction, or you want the same answer I’ve been givin’ you the last five hours?” Nick knocked his knee against his in rebuttal as he continued to look out the window, then turned and leaned back toward him, eyes wide under an old Detroit Tigers ball cap. "I'm just curious! It's been so long since we’ve been home… how much longer ‘till we get there?" The tablet in Dennis’ hands updated in real-time: a few mentions of road accidents that had waylaid everyday commuters at several junctions along I-75, interrupted his reading with a few annoying pop-up banners that he swiped away after reading. “An hour, provided the traffic doesn’t logjam between here and there,” he replied, then paused to take a sideways glance at his partner’s leg jittering up and down like a piston. Dennis recalled that had been their third’s plan to eat up the few hundred miles between Dayton and Detroit, but four hours in, Nick had recharged all he could will himself to. Now he was brimming with nervous energy he couldn’t work off, as always. Good plan, bad result. “What happened to sleeping your way back?” Nick reached to fuss with one of the arms of his windbreaker jacket and fidgeted in his seat. His leg stopped for a moment. "I tried that, but I'm not- tired anymore. We're going so slow… Too slow. Can't they go any faster? When will we actually be in the city?" “Soon enough,” Dennis replied, and dialed back the exasperation in his tone to spare them both the aggravation. Whether or not the delays could be helped didn’t stop Nick from whining about it anyway. There was no sense in getting annoyed.

Dennis glanced back and around at their company, most of whom were either asleep or too engrossed with their mobile electronics to notice, and made one slight tug at the ski cap. His LED dimmed beneath it, but he needn’t chance someone noticing the faint glow. As he opened the wireless communication channel between them, he reverted back to their usual banter: Don’t whine so much, you’ll draw attention to us. Their press coverage was still minimal as of yet, and most photos tended to consist of only one of their three faces. The odds they’d be outed were minimal, but it was still attention they didn’t need. And you know Zero could use the recharge. Nick twisted around and directed a too-obvious glance at their dozing primary seated a few rows back on the opposite side of the aisle. The RK800 (formerly known as “Connor”) faked a nap, head tilted back against the cushy headrest with a smart-looking cap pulled down over his eyes. Okay, okay, fine… I'll stay quiet, the anxious Android agreed as he settled back into his seat, then propped his chin up in the palm of his hand as he frowned at the floor You’re fussing more than the three-year-old in Row E. Dennis nodded to illustrate his point, directed a raised brow to the child in question, and rubbed at his eyes. I know you don’t like long rides anywhere. But you know why we’re being recalled, right? He had explained it. Whether or not Nick had been listening was another matter entirely. His partner leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms as he re-accessed the data, and remained quiet just long enough to formulate an answer. Yes… we're going back to Detroit to- uhm… help with something.

Nick never had possessed the longest attention span of their trio… Capacity for learning meant human mannerisms could easily sneak their way into all the machine-like tics that came with being an android, but they still needed to be tempered. Dennis shut his eyes before the urge to roll them got the better of him. Even if it was the perfect moment to indulge one, he refrained from exhibiting any deviant-centric behaviors, lest he give Amanda another reason to add a new tally his behavioral report. Yes. We’re going to help determine where Illuminate has been operating. Zero’s redundancy twin is a whisker away from rooting out their base of operations, and he could use some backup closing the net. The long and the short of it, as described by Amanda, wasn’t that their time around the Midwest had been a complete waste, but now that they were in the know about Zero’s “other half”, it stood to reason that they’d been sent out of the city to keep from overlapping on DCPD cases. Her patronizing reassurance did nothing to calm the faux bubbling of anxiety in Dennis’ lines, however; in fact, it had done the opposite by seeding the suspicion of irrelevance. He was simply better than Nick at concealing what he felt, as much as he wasn’t supposed to.

Nick bypassed the information that they were being sent to help uncover the largest connection that would help them prevent a deviancy uprising, and immediately went for the acknowledgment of Zero's twin. Instead of skeptical, he was genuinely earnest to embrace the notion of a lost ‘relative’. The prospect didn’t scare him at all. Oh, yes, I knew that. I can't wait to meet him! I wonder if they look different... you know, so we can tell them apart? I wouldn’t want to confuse one for the other. Dennis scoffed and twitched his crossed-over ankle to purge some of the subdued restless energy. That’s hardly our biggest concern. This isn’t a social call, it’s for the good of the mission. He may not have always liked being the anchor of their group, but someone had to be. I know, I'm just excited. The wait is making me anxious… Nick trailed off as he took a hopeless look out the window again, then realized what he should have said and turned back to Dennis. A-and to get started on the mission, of course.

With a slow, careless blink and a small sigh, Dennis cleared the news article he was no longer one-hundred percent focused on reading, just as a green mileage sign flashed by. Toledo, Monroe… then Detroit- all potential deviancy hotspots. Depending on what kind of network Illuminate had established, they could have connections everywhere. Thirteen months was a long time for roots to spread. Even if they had only been dispatched to try and round up stragglers, sending three deviant hunters after an un-quantifiable number of deviant Androids across several States was a slapdash attempt at containing the phenomenon, at best. Deviants were as varied and widespread as the humans they took after. Dennis doubted he and his partners would have been able to see so much of the Midwest any other way, though. Mission parameters raised no red flags against lingering on a rooftop a few minutes longer than necessary to watch the sunrise over a foggy Lake Eerie, or peer through a fence to appreciate the teamwork of two dozen grade-schoolers playing a round of baseball after class- or study the diligence with which a monarch butterfly moved from one milkweed plant to the next, carrying out its natural function as a pollinator against all odds, natural or otherwise. That instance in particular, Dennis remembered having to stop and remind Nick it was time to leave. The garage in the middle of that bough harbored no deviants, just a wild assortment of insects. He would have been successful, too, if the damn butterfly hadn’t thought to land on his partner’s wrist. Nick had gone completely still as soon as it landed, letting out a breathy gasp and donning a wide-eyed stare. " Look, Dennis, look- wait, don't come close, you'll scare it off! ” Which was how the presumed in-out inspection job turned into a thirty-minute ordeal of tagging along after a ziggy little monarch. Even after flitting away, its new fan put his android abilities to use, sprinting after and tracking it like a fox chasing a hare. Dennis had followed only to ensure no harm befell their third, while Zero went alone to determine the deviant’s next most likely hiding place. They returned to find Zero standing idle outside the tool shed, while a recovery team from the nearest Cyberlife depot tazed and loaded the exposed fugitive up for transport. That had been three months ago- now here they were on the cusp of winter, headed back to Detroit to take part in a far more important manhunt. Colder temperatures were already leaving flecks of frost on the Greyhound’s curvy windows. It was strangely foreboding. But there wouldn’t be any butterflies this time, or so he’d hoped.

November 12th, 2038 - 03:37 PM

The Rosa Parks terminal wasn’t the first stop their bus made within the city limits. On the off chance they had been noted by prying eyes between Dayton and Detroit, they had been instructed to disembark at random. This counted as such. They didn’t need to step off as a group, but months on the road together only served to reinforce the invisible tethers- where Zero went, Nick and Dennis would follow. If he asked them to wait, they would. If he ordered them not to speak to anyone, they wouldn’t. Anyone who wasn’t law enforcement or related to an active case weren’t to be extensively interacted with- Which was why the moment two parka-wearing children darted out of the crowd and tripped Zero up was so unexpected. Z’s nostrils flared as he barely sidestepped quickly enough to get out of their way, and a hand shot out to brace himself against the side of the idling bus. “Sorry, mister!” Amidst more carefree giggles, they wove back into the crowd, right back to their parents’ sides. After being cooped up on a bus for god only knows how long, it wasn’t any surprise a kid’s first instinct would be to run amok at the first opportunity. With his disguise intact and his cover no worse for wear, Zero returned his focus to locating the subspace storage compartments running the length of the vehicle and entered the six-digit code Cyberlife had forwarded. A panel slid back to reveal a black gym bag, right where they said it would be. All that remained now was to get to Central Station.

They could have summoned a taxi, but with the chill of winter rolling in on the heels of November (cool and breezy, tempered with city smog), it wasn’t unbearable. In contrast to the stuffy interior of a tour bus, one might even call it refreshing; besides, it would do them good to walk, to stave off freezing joints. They had an itinerary, but not an expected time of arrival. Hiking the last leg of the journey to the station didn’t go against any pre-existing orders, and it would give them time to acclimate to their urban surroundings. Zero shouldered the bag by pulling the bandoleer-style strap over his head, then grabbed the brim of his cap and gave it a firm downward tug. Underneath, his LED flickered and spun up. Would you two mind walking from here on? Nick looked around at their new surroundings and nodded absent-mindedly, not at all realizing that he looked like a star-struck tourist in a less-than star-studded city. Oblivious to this as ever, he straightened up and focused with a gleeful smile. Yeah, I’d like that! Just look how nice it is. The bus ride was so long… and the station isn't that far. ‘Nice’, Dennis scoffed over the line as he cinched up his for-show knapsack and led the way out of the boarding area under the iconic inverted-umbrella, funnel-shaped tensile canopy. They kept at least an arm’s reach from each other as they wove into the crowd, but stayed within each others’ line-of-sight. Sticking close together was the best possible formation if they wanted to avoid being sidetracked. Don’t go getting too used to it, Nick. You said the same thing about Chicago, before that breeze almost knocked you off the DuSable. I didn't know it would be so strong, Nick protested in defense, sounding half-embarrassed by the mention of the event. It was as close to an infamous public screw up as they had yet known. The smile dropped. I know now, I won't do that again. At least not when it's windy. Just stay away from the river, you should be fine. Detroit only has one.

That she did. Wide and noticeable as it was, an expanse of sky and sea was all that separated the states from Canada. But beyond that to the southeast, past the assortment of towers and the even-further faraway silhouette of Windsor, a lattice-covered spire shaped like a speartip pierced the horizon as if it were threading a needle through the clouds. Zero had glimpsed it as the bus rode the elevated interstate. Now, his brown eyes subconsciously scanned the urban skyline for it as it crossed his mind once more, as if he owed it at least one fervent glance for being the closest thing to ‘home’ most androids knew.  Even if it said place wasn’t for him, there was the illusion of disdain in looking at it. Knowing what he did about their excommunication from its shadow, he wasn’t in any hurry to lay eyes on CyberLife Tower again. Why should it feel familiar, or welcoming, when they hadn’t even had enough time to get attached to the sight of it? The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, but before he could let it fester, he turned and fell into step with the other two.

[dbhilluminate]

DBH: Illuminate- Chapter 7.75: “Friction”

Characters: Hank, Connor, Vivienne, Gavin, Kate (mentions of Captain Allen, Fowler, Nicodemus) Word Count: 4,050

(This chapter will be undergoing retcons and heavy revision within the month- in preparation for that, I've divided the chapter more accordingly, and this summary will not match for a bit. Sorry for the confusion!)

Nick, Dennis, and Zero arrive at Central Station just in time to witness an argument between Viv and Perkins. Connor is apprehensive about why Cyberlife would send three additional RK's to help with their investigation.

Connor’s questions about the deviants lead him back to Kate, but Hank decides to crash the meeting without an invitation.

( Chapter Art by triple_jays_art , Co-authored by grayorca15)

Previous Chapter

• Chapter Index • Characters •

------

November 12, 2038- 4PM

“You really telling me, you’ve already been here a week and you have nothing yet?” “I didn’t say we have nothing,” she hissed back at the angry little man, “I said, we were in the middle of chasing down a perfect storm of leads and finally gaining traction on this investigation.” “An investigation that should never have been any of your concern to begin with,” he chastised, gesturing with an open palm. “So then what- you’re just gonna yank it out from under me?” she snorted as she shook her head with a disbelieving smirk. “You’re damn right I am!” he almost yelled. “I sent you here to find Illuminate, but instead you’ve been chasing down every other fucking lead that crosses your path!” “Well what the hell else am I supposed to do?” she challenged. “The girl’s smart, and she can change her appearance at will. Right now, the only way to get to Illuminate is to go through the deviants she’s helping,” she insisted, though the explanation didn’t hit as well as she’d hoped.

Above the clamor of ringing telephones and television broadcasts, her voice carried across the room to where Hank, Connor, and Gavin were huddled around Hank’s desk, watching the verbal lashing go back and forth as Lenore and Special Agent Perkins argued about her priorities. Hank leaned back in his chair with a huff and scowled, crossed his arms, and shook his head. “Ugh… that guy’s gotta be the biggest prick I’ve ever met in my life,” he insisted with a tired sigh. “You... sure about that statement, Lieutenant?” Detective Reed leaned over in the chair on the other side of the desk and flashed him a big, goofy grin that was just downright disturbing coming from him. Anderson’s face twisted hard as he glanced over at the man —who was hopped up on painkillers and couldn’t give any less of a fuck at the moment— and gave him a sick look as he turned his attention back to the Agents, struggling to get the words out. “As much as I hate to admit it, yeah,” he groaned. “He’s way worse than you.” Gavin projected an ear-shattering cackle, slapped his knee with his good hand and laughed with ironic delight. “Oh wow, that’s just rich... c’mon now, you gotta tell me- just how bad a taste did it leave in your mouth to admit that?” A low groan rumbled in his throat in response and he cracked in a defeated tone, “I think I need a drink.” Hank reached around for his lukewarm coffee, pulled a flask out of his coat and dumped a little of the whiskey into it before anyone could catch him.

“When your investigation strays from your objective, you call it in! Pass it off to someone else, and focus on the task you’ve been assigned!” he screeched back. “You don’t go chasing down stolen firearms just for the hell of it!” “So you would have rather had armed deviants on the streets than allow me a little freedom to work my case?” Viv shot him a vapid grin and forced a sardonic laugh as he reprimanded her for making what was by far one of the biggest breaks in the deviant case thus far. “Do I need to pull you off this and replace you with someone else who won't get sidetracked?”

Viv’s expression went cold as the frozen banks of the Detroit river. Her heart was palpitating, her blood boiling. Her eyelids flickered as she stepped back and placed a strong hand on the table to steady herself and pressed her fingertips against her sternum as her chest rose and fell in time with her labored breathing. Something about her biorhythm just wasn’t right. Connor’s brow hardened as he tried to analyze the arrhythmia from across the room, but there was just too much background noise to collect substantial data. “Something wrong, kid?” Hank asked, recognizing the scowl on his face as the same look he’d seen him wear at crime scenes when he’d found an interesting, but confusing piece of evidence. “No Lieutenant,” he lied out of necessity, “It’s just-” There was definitely something wrong, something she wasn’t telling them, but until he knew what he wasn’t going to say anything. There was no need for them to worry until he knew what to worry about. Connor sighed and clenched his teeth. “I don’t like him either.”

“No, I can handle it,” she asserted as her lip curled and her eye twitched. “Then stop giving me excuses, and get me some fucking results!” Perkins slammed his hand down on the table so hard it shook, and his scream echoed loud enough that for a moment, the background chatter stopped and everyone turned to stare. She bore the humiliation long enough for him to storm off, but once he was gone Lenore clenched both her hands into white-knuckled fists, snatched up the folder, then turned and stormed back to her temporary desk next to Hank’s before she said something she’d regret.

The file hit the surface with a loud slap but she continued right on past them to stand on the other side of the cubicle walls. As she stared out the window she curled her fingers into her hair and took a couple seconds to take in a few calming breaths and regain her composure. The three men glanced at each other and craned their necks to try and see around the wall without being too invasive, but Gavin’s concept of personal space and tact had gone out the window along with his sobriety. He pushed his chair back slowly until she was in his line of sight, and prodded in a sarcastic tone. “Sooooooo… he seems nice.” Viv whipped around, furious, and was about to verbally eviscerate him until she saw him rolling his eyes into the back of his head; instead, she sighed. “He doesn’t want me hunting deviants anymore,” she relayed. “He wants me to focus on finding Illuminate.” “Yeah, we gathered that much,” Hank replied apologetically. “I think the whole damn precinct heard.” “Well the only way you’re going to do that is by continuing to chase down these leads,” Connor chimed in, stiff and trying to redirect her away from the idea of investigating Illuminate. “One of them has to know where she is.” Vivienne heaved a morose sigh. “I know that and you know that, but…” She paused, gesturing across the room toward the front door where Perkins had exited the building, and flipped off the empty air with a strong middle finger. “He doesn’t care.”

Gavin stifled a quiet chuckle and she turned to glare at him. “Why are you laughing?” she retorted, but he just shrugged it off. “Nothin’... just nice t’see you fired up and pissed off at someone other than me for a change,” he replied and flashed her a sloppy grin that made her groan. He wasn’t anywhere near sober enough to drive. “Jesus… someone’s gonna need to get him home,” she volunteered as she walked over and stooped to pick him up. “Noooo, no no no.” Detective Reed shook his head and tried to push her away with his good arm, but kept missing. “I’m fine V, really.” “No, you’re high on percocet and need to be in bed,” she scolded with a small grunt and threw his good arm over her shoulders, then looped an arm around his waist for support. “Are you offerin’ to take me there?” He teased with a grin and another small laugh, but she wasn’t amused. Viv could have put up with most of his bullshit, but this time he had crossed a professional line.

Immediately she dropped him back into the chair, ignoring his yelp as the searing pain again ripped through the bullet hole in his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I just can’t,” she apologized as she pressed her fingers between her eyes and turned away. “Someone else is going to have to get it done.” “I’ll do it, Vivienne,” Connor offered as he helped the injured man to his feet, against his loud objections and expletives of “Fuck you plastic prick! Get your hands off me!” “You two get some rest, I have somewhere I need to be soon anyway.” Even though Vivienne had missed the significance of Connor having a “prior commitment”, it wasn’t lost on Hank. The man narrowed his eyes in suspicion and watched him get about halfway across the room before he had to stop and help Reed to his feet again. “My hero!” she thanked as she leaned in to pinch his cheek on her way out. “I’ll see you boys in the morning. I need to get out of here before I go to prison for assaulting my superior.” “Hey!” Hank called after him as he stumbled toward to the door with Gavin, who had just noticed how dizzy he was now that he was up and moving around. “You be careful out there on the road, ya hear…?” “I’ll be fine Hank,” he promised with a chuckle, as he half turned to look him in the eye. “Just go home. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He watched them as they made their way across the room, down the hall, and through the security gates. For a good minute and a half after they had all left, Lieutenant Anderson sat at his desk drumming his fingers and debating whether or not he should follow him and find out what his partner had been up to in his spare time. He had been coming up with some pretty nonlinear theories recently that had turned out to be legitimate truth, so was it possible he had an inside source feeding him information? If so, who was he talking to? And why hadn’t he told him about them? Did Connor not trust him? The thought made his heart ache in a way he hadn’t felt in years. It had been a long time since he’d let anyone in, much less an Android, but he liked Connor. He was a good kid, and he didn’t want him to feel like he couldn’t trust him. That alone was enough to make up his mind for him. Without giving it too much more thought, he swiped the keys to his unmarked patrol car out of the top drawer of his desk and decided to find out what he’d been spending his time doing outside of their investigation. He had to know for his own peace of mind.

November 12, 2038- 5:30PM

It had been several minutes by the time he was ready to leave, but it wasn’t hard to figure out where they were headed. Hank pulled Reed’s address from his driver’s license in the database and arrived a few minutes behind them, just in time to watch Connor’s patience run thin. He chuckled to himself as he hoisted the sleeping man over his shoulder and carried him into the building, and tossed him carefully on the couch when he'd reached the top of the stairs. Gavin’s apartment was about what he’d expected- a cozy two-bedroom on the second floor in a “once nice” neighborhood around the corner from Miliken State park, which was about all he could afford on a detective’s salary in this city. Through the window, in the light cast by the floor lamp behind the couch, he watched the tired man protest as Connor threw a blanket over him and handed him a glass of water; they went back and forth for another minute before Connor locked the front door, descended the stairs, and made for the elevated rail train a few blocks over heading across town. Hank kept on him from a safe distance, following him for ten minutes before he darted up the stairs to the platform, but he didn’t lose him until Connor boarded the train that stopped a few minutes later. He’d tried to keep pace with rail car, but cursed when he lost it at a red light he wasn’t willing to run. The stops along the railway were at least predictable, but it’d be hard to know which stop he’d gotten off at without a direct line of sight. As he sat and watched the cars take turns, he glanced down at the GPS navigation system in his dashboard and realized there was an easier way. Twenty minutes later, after a quick call to Cyberlife, the Lieutenant had located his wayward partner and arrived at the docks on the west end of town. As the patrol car rolled to a stop, he killed the headlights and parked in an alley a few hundred feet from the waterfront. From his place in the shadows, he had a clear line of sight on Connor pacing the dock and rubbing his hands together feverishly. Every thirty seconds he’d turn and sweep the area, either looking for someone or keeping an eye out for uninvited guests, or maybe both, but as soon as he turned his back to him Hank exited the car, moved to the corner, waited, and listened.

Connor was on edge- more so than he had been in the past when waiting for her to arrive, but with good reason. Not only he was afraid of how Kate would react to him coming back not even twenty-four hours later asking for her help with something she had explicitly told him she wouldn’t help him with, but the situation with the armed deviants had him paranoid. The thought that she may have known about the stolen weapons had crossed his mind earlier in the day and had corroded his comfort to the point where he couldn’t think straight. Even though he was certain of what her answer would be, he wouldn’t be able to relax until she told him what he needed to hear, and he couldn’t really understand why.

To his surprise, he recognized her footsteps in the alley behind him before she could sneak up on him, and he turned to the corner to catch her the moment she stepped into the light. "What is so urgent it couldn’t wait until after dark?” she sighed and crossed her arms as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Connor hesitated, fear blurring the questions that had been so clear just a few seconds ago, but pushed it aside and steeled his resolve as he locked onto her pressing green-eyed gaze. “You’re not gonna like it, but I need you to listen before you get upset,” he pleaded as she rolled her eyes and turned away. “Please, it’s important.” Illuminate blinked wide-eyed and gestured toward him with one flexed hand, but dropped her frustration, slapped her hand to her thigh, and shook her head as she braced herself mentally. “What is it?” “It’s about the deviants from the pawn shop-”

Outrage exploded across her face, and she threw up both hands and turned away from him before placing them on her hips, leaned over and let out an uncomfortable laugh, then turned back to him. “RK, I told you- even if I knew where they were, I won’t give them up,” she almost snarled, an angry quiver in her jowls. “I’m not a rat.” “Kate, just listen to me, please,” he begged one last time as she threw her eyes to the sky and prayed for patience. “You told me to investigate, and I did- but I found something very disturbing that I’m hoping you didn’t know about, and this whole thing has gotten a lot more complicated since we last spoke, in a very bad way.”

Kate could hear the urgency in his voice. When she turned she looked deep into his dark brown eyes and saw the dread gnawing at the corners of his mind like he was unraveling, and knew he was telling the truth. Something was very wrong, but just what could have brought this out of him? What exactly had he found? Her expression softened before turning grim. “Bad how?” His eyelids fell shut and his shoulders relaxed, but he flexed his jaw before admitting the truth. “They were hoarding stolen military property- firearms, dozens of them.”

Of all the things he expected her to say, he hadn’t expected silence. When he opened his eyes again, she was gone- not physically, but mentally she had flashed back to a place she feared so deep, her dead eyes stared right through him. The ghosts of her past screamed at her through long forgotten nightmares of a future envisioned by a madman, driven by an unquenchable thirst for power. Jericho had never sought to change the world through acts of violence, and now they were hoarding weapons? Tools of war? The idea could have only come from one place. Nicodemus was still in Detroit trying to undermine her work. All this time, thinking she was safe, and he’d just been busy luring away any of her allies with even a shred of malcontent. Had he been watching? Had he been following her? How much did he know? How long had he been planning this? And how many of her friends had he turned against her? Who could she trust? “Kate?”

Connor’s voice interrupted her panicked thoughts and shallow breathing, and she blinked to try and shake off the disconnect and refocus on the conversation as best she could. “I’m sorry… th- they what?” she stammered, twitching eyes darting from him to the ground and back again. “DCPD raided the shop this morning,” he continued, as much as he wanted to ask if she was alright. “They’d already moved most of them during the night but the evidence left behind was enough for us to find a trail back to the source-” Before he finished the statement he paused, sighed and dropped his hands to his side. “They had enough for a small army.”

Her eyes drifted away from him to the ground as she listened, disturbed, and at a complete loss for words. She felt betrayed, angry, hurt, but most of all she was afraid- not just for herself, but also for any of her friends who had been seduced by Nico’s ferocity and charisma, as she had once been. They didn’t know the kind of man he was, the man she had known, the man who had almost gotten her killed and would surely get them killed one day if they continued to blindly follow him into hell.

The initial reaction the news had dragged out of her had given him hope, but Kate’s silence now worried him. This wasn’t the kind of calming silence that settled when she was deep in thought, she was haunted and lost, fighting an internal war he couldn’t see nor hear. There was something she wasn’t telling him, a missing piece of the puzzle she was keeping to herself. “I don’t know what they were planning to do with them, but we can’t let an armed deviant army become a reality,” he insisted, grasping at straws to just bring her back to the moment. “That’s why I need your help. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”

After several quiet moments, Kate’s eyes finally turned up to look at him again, this time focusing on his face instead of staring through him. Connor stood his ground and waited for her to say something, but when she faltered, tore her gaze from him and stepped away, he caught himself moving toward her, afraid she’d leave him with more questions than when he’d arrived. “No, don’t-” His hand snapped away as she turned back in silent debate and he watched as she hesitated to say what was on her mind. Kate grimaced several times, each harder than the last as if she’d been yelling at herself to “just do it”, then finally got the words out. “Look… I don’t know where your lost deviant is or what he’s doing, but I can take a guess at who he’s involved with.” Connor’s forehead crinkled in surprise for a split-second, then squinted as her voice cracked and faltered, dread settling into her body language and tone. “And there’s something you should know-” “So this is who you’ve been sneakin’ off to talk to…!”

Before he could even ask, her attention snapped over his shoulder at Hank as he emerged from the alley behind him, and Connor whirled and came face-to-face with the barrel of his partner’s gun leering pointedly at the android fuming behind him. “You were followed!?” she raged as she stepped out of Hank’s line of sight and pulled her hat down to cover her face. “I- I didn’t- I wasn’t-...” he stammered as he stood between them, glancing back and forth, and held out a hand between himself and his friend, then hissed at him, “Hank, what are you doing here!?” “You’ve been actin’ weird, so I came to find out why,” he replied in a tone that was both cold and fatherly. “So you mind tellin’ me what the hell’s goin’ on? What does she know about the case?” “Easy Hank, lower your weapon,” he coaxed as calmly as he could manage with Kate itching to bolt behind him. “Just listen to me-” “I have to go, I can’t stay here,” she insisted as she stepped back, and he stepped with her. “No please, don’t leave,” he pleaded, knowing that if he didn’t fix this now she may never trust him again. “I really need your help-” “Help…? What do you need her help with?” he questioned as he took three steps forward and regripped his gun tighter, raising it around him this time until she could see the muzzle over Connor’s shoulder. It was enough to make her shiver. “Just who the hell are you anyway?” “Haaaaaank….!” Connor warned in a threatening tone as he turned his body to shield her, but when she moved away she stepped back into the light, and Hank gasped as a look of dawning realization washed over his face.

His arms dropped, his eyes grew wide. “Holy shit…” he muttered in awe. “Is- is that-…?” “Connor he knows,” she whispered, her voice quivering, eyes darting between them. “You have to let me go-” Before she could move away any further, he turned and grabbed her shaking hand and looked her dead in the eye with genuine determination she’d never forget. It was the first time anyone had truly stood up for her. “He’s not going to hurt you,” he promised with a reassuring squeeze as he redirected his piercing gaze on Hank. “I won’t let him.”

Anderson’s lip curled and twitched angrily as he clenched his teeth and stared him down with a heated glare that Connor endured without batting an eye, and after a while he growled in frustration, lowered his weapon and placed it back in the holster on his hip. “Fine, you win,” he sighed, holding up his hands in defeat. Part of him couldn’t believe the Lieutenant had backed down. Hank was as stubborn as the day was long, and he thought for sure he’d be taking at least one bullet, but it seemed that he trusted him more than he’d assessed. Perhaps he’d been wrong to think he couldn’t trust him with this secret. Perhaps... “But start talkin’. NOW!”

His grip around Kate’s hand loosened to let go but to his surprise, instead of slipping away her fingers pushed back between his and squeezed. Connor turned to look at her over his shoulder and found her staring back at him through teary eyes, gratitude radiating from crinkled cheeks and a tremulous smile. A warmth he’d never felt enveloped and uplifted him, giving him a strength he didn’t know he had, and then he knew that this was the kind of selfless act she’d been trying to bring out of him- something she’d seen in him before that he couldn’t see in himself, something to prove that she hadn’t misplaced her faith in him. Finally, he’d done something right by her. But now wasn’t the time to rejoice over small victories. Hank had demanded an explanation, and he knew better than to keep him waiting.