May 23rd, 2039: 03:07pm - The Precinct

Despite Abby's orders to remain home and recover before resuming the case Connor had managed to coax Hank into taking him back to the precinct to work on the case with the other detectives involved with the hostage situation. Wearing a light blue dress shirt and a gray blazer over top of it in favor of his ruined white dress shirt and formerly CyberLife blazer Connor looked professional as usual, yet different. The young deviant wasn't a fan of breaking his old routines just yet, but the new attire was temporary and Hank was happy to give his older, smaller clothes to someone who could really use them. Tossing the blue scrubs into the hallway closet to keep them available in emergencies Connor promptly changed his clothes and let Hank help him out to the car to begin the drive back to the precinct as quickly as possible.

Fussing with his bandages under the slightly too big shirt Connor sat down behind his desk and explained everything to Gavin, Tina, Chris, Ben and Captain Fowler who had gathered around to listen to the recovering deviant's logic regarding the illogical case at hand. The explanation was difficult to convey as humans didn't have to worry about form of the hive-mind scenario (being sheep-minded is very different), and afterward show the thirty-two statements perfectly mirroring one another to prove his theory.

"Holy shit..." Hank compared the thirty-two statements side by side as Connor put the documents on display over his terminal screen. Every word, every term and every detail was exactly the same. "You're right, kid. It's like someone took a single statement and photocopied it thirty more times."

"Thirty-one."

"Smartass."

"We can confirm that these statements came from a single mind who was unable to alter the details in eight distinct manners due to the fact the deviant mind in unable to fabricate secondary details."

"Wait, deviants don't have imaginations?"

"We do. But twisting falsified events to further a deception is something that a single mind cannot do while maintaining control over eight other minds. It would overwhelm the controlling mind and cause them to overheat, or even shutdown."

"Wait a minute..." A sly smirk appeared on Hank's face as he took Connor's words to heart. Glancing about the small space he locked eyes with each detective and gave them a smug stare. "If we can get all eight hostages back in here and separate them from one another; each hostage speaking to a detective and doing so all at the same time, we should be able to root out the one who orchestrated this entire shit-show by stressing them the fuck out with endless and random questions."

The theory was sound and it made Connor's brow arch inquisitively as his L.E.D. continued to cycle in a steady yellow hue. "It's possible, yes. But there is a single issue that needs to be resolved before we can attempt such an endeavor."

"What's that?"

"There are eight witnesses that need to be interviewed." Motioning to the detectives all around them Connor showcased the simple math. "And there are only seven of us. We need the assistance of one more person to perform such a feat properly."

"Shit, you're right."

Captain Fowler considered the theory, the evidence and the tactic being discussed very closely before he made his final decision. "We can sweat the deviants with the seven of us as detectives, and we'll have Markus Manfred come in here as a consultant."

The suggestion was sound yet confusing to Connor as he had never known Captain Fowler to request outside help. "Sir? You wish to bring in a non-detective for detective work?"

"We're limited with our resources and available personnel, Connor. And since Markus has already managed to get us this very critical information by handling the investigation during his own time then I think we can trust him to help us with this third round of questions. The eight hostages all trust him, too."

"Yes, of course. I'll cybernetically request his presence."

"Good. Everyone else," motioning to the five other detectives awaiting their next task Captain Fowler gave them all a simple order. "take five. If we're going to root out the true suspect then we'll need to stay sharp and be able to drill the eight witnesses with questions back-to-back."

Hank had no problem taking a quick break before they set about their intense questioning, and happily walked into the breakroom to find caffeine and leftover food to gorge on for a moment. Meanwhile Ben, Tina and Chris all went into the breakroom to get some coffee and regroup after learning of the terribly complex case they found themselves being challenged to solve.

Remaining at his desk as he cybernetically informed Markus of their plan and requesting that he come to the precinct Connor was only vaguely aware that Gavin was lingering at his own desk, and was being painfully quiet. It was clear that Gavin was in pain, physically and mentally, and that he just wanted the day to come to an end so he could go back to his apartment and hide.

"...Gavin?" Breaking the tense silence in a low voice Connor addressed the Sergeant sitting a few feet away and tried to be a comforting voice to listen to in that odd moment. Ignoring the black eye and swollen nose thanks to Hank lashing out at him earlier Connor kept things as civil as possible. "...Thank you."

The comment made Gavin's hazel eyes narrow as he gave Connor a suspicious look. "...'Thank you'? For what?"

"Your presence caused the shooter to retreat before they could shoot me for a third time. If you hadn't arrived and located my position then I would've been killed with no chance to defend myself. Thank you for saving my life."

"...You're plastic." Scoffing at the idea Gavin shook his head a little and slumped down in chair as fatigue set in. "What kind of life did I possibly save?"

"Considering I've yet to live for a single year I suspect it's safe to say that life is still waiting to be seen."

"Don't get philosophical on me, 'Tinman'. My head's killing me."

From behind Gavin and out of the breakroom Tina returned to their connected desks with her hands full of goodies. "I gotcha' covered."

Watching as Tina placed two mugs down on their desks; one of coffee and one of tea, Gavin yearned for any kind of relief from his headache. "Please tell me you have an entire bottle of aspirin dissolved in that coffee."

"Sorry, Gav." Passing over another treat and a small bottle of medication Tina flashed him a cheesy grin. "But I did bring you some ibuprofen and chocolate chip muffin."

Accepting the wrapped up pastry from Tina's hand Gavin removed the plastic film and picked up one of the chocolate chips to pop into his mouth. "Good enough, thanks."

"Need any ice?" Tina tried and failed to ignore her partner's injuries as she sipped at her cup of tea. She knew what happened after Gavin finally opened up and began talking, and she wasn't holding any grudges against Hank since he seemingly knocked some sense into her stubborn partner. "Your eye looks pretty messed up, but at least your nose stopped bleeding."

"It's fine. I'll ice my entire face tomorrow while hiding from the sunlight."

From where he sat Connor ran a scan over Gavin's injuries and winced at the hairline fracture of his right orbit and deviated septum thanks to Hank brutally striking him in the face repeatedly. Hank had told Connor about the fight as well during their return to the precinct. A fight that Connor felt partially responsible for as he didn't fully clarify why he said Gavin's name before losing consciousness.

Reaching over her desk Tina lightly brushed back a few stray locks of Gavin's hair to get a better glimpse of his blackened eye. "Can you even see?"

"Yeah. It's blurry but my eye still works."

"You really need to let a doctor check it out."

"Tina, it's fine." Batting away Tina's hand Gavin sighed and nursed his cup of coffee hoping the caffeine would aid his headache and allow him to function well enough to finish off his shift. "I have two weeks of paid leave to recover from this. And knowing that the Lieutenant has to keep working for his paycheck while I get to sit on my ass already makes me feel a hell of a lot better..."

May 23rd, 2039: 05:01pm - The Precinct

Once Markus arrived at the precinct he was taken aside by Connor and told of their plan to weed out the single source of control that was swaying the opinions and movements of the seven other deviants involved in the previous hostage situation. While Markus didn't approve of the deceptive tactic and plan to intentionally overwhelm seven innocent deviants just to identify one guilty deviant he understood the necessity for the intense interviews. Being given the proper clearance to handle the final interview with one of the eight witnesses Markus entered the designated interview room and made sure to keep to the unorthodox plan of overwhelming the witness with relentless questions as instructed.

Each detective was assigned a single witness and each detective had their own line of relatively strange questions prepared to go on an electronic tablet. Making sure to begin the eight interviews all at once the detectives headed off to their assigned rooms and prepared for strange task at hand.

Markus found himself speaking to the deviant who had finished his shift at the hospital before being taken hostage the night before. Darren was a nurse in the intensive care wing of St. Mercy Hospital and had no history of violence with anyone, or a criminal history. Still wearing his red tinted scrubs it was clear that Darren had tried to go about his routine as normally as possible.

Next door Captain Fowler was speaking with Sarah, a lawyer, who had no reason to deceive the police in general. She was wearing a similar professional attire from the night before, and had just finished handling a case downtown before coming into the precinct as requested.

One room away Ben was speaking with the electrician, Tyler, and brushing off his metaphorical rust as he interrogated his first suspect in almost twelve years. Tyler had no criminal record either, and seemed to be a very timid type of person. The sight of the young looking deviant covered in dirt and grease was reminiscent of a little boy digging about in the sandbox in his backyard.

Tina was speaking with Juan who worked as an advertising executive, and had been responsible for promoting positive publicity for New Jericho Tower and the precincts in the city in the aftermath of the Revolution. Wearing a sharp suit and sitting up straight in his chair Juan seemed fearless and eager to leave the precinct to go about his business.

Gavin was speaking with Marianne, who owned and operated a daycare. To the detective's keen eyes the deviant was as harmful as a dandelion on a windy day, and a part of him actually loathed the idea of stressing her out. Arguably Gavin's hatred toward androids was beginning to diminish, but he'd never admit it to his change of heart.

Connor found himself speaking to Belinda, and found it a little strange to be speaking to someone who bore a striking resemblance to North in both her design and current occupation. Like Tina the deviant detective didn't judge Belinda as he knew it was difficult for the models from the 'Eden Club' to escape their pasts and enter a better future as anyone different.

Chris had the honor of speaking to Raquel who was an assistant to the mayor, and often vouched for the police force to receive better funding, and to commend the police force for how quickly they were adapting to the changes in laws and rights in the aftermath of the Revolution. She had a very kind smile and it was hard to imagine her as a possible suspect to any crime.

In the final room Hank interviewed Chet, a deviant working as a mechanic downtown. Everything about Chet's demeanor reminded Hank of the average blue collar citizen just trying to get by and earn an honest living. He was on the verge of rethinking his plan, but it was too late to back out now and regardless of his personal feelings they still needed to find the guilty party.

One by one the questions began...

A mixture of what seemed like routine questions being asked; the last known location before being taken hostage, their memories of what happened inside the building, dates and times, etc. were being addressed, but when the eight interviewing detectives began to change up the questions in both order and then context it was easy to see that something, or someone, was affecting the witnesses' answers and reactions.

The questions continued rapidly and without any rhyme or reason.

Where were they the night before being taken hostage? Who were they with? What time was it? What color was the shirt they were wearing? How many birds were flying in the sky when they were taken? How many steps did they take before they were jumped? When was the last time they replenished their Thirium? Where were they the night before the hostage situation? How many grains of salt are in the Pacific Ocean? What is the sound of one hand clapping?

The strange and random questions were proving too much for the hive-mind to process, and the control broke down steadily.

Slowly the eight witnesses began to lose their composure as their stress levels raised up higher and higher.

Watching as the deviants began to break down, their words struggling more and more as they tried to answer the questions but failed to maintain any form of consistency in the process, Markus was able to confirm that Darren was NOT the shooter. The deviant seemed to snap back to reality as the deviant who was trying to hold control over his mind had failed, and at last Darren was freed!

"...M-Markus?" Darren was overheating and very confused. As his senses full returned to him Darren gave the deviant leader a completely lost look and glanced about the precinct interview room in utter puzzlement. Recognizing a trusted face helped him feel more at ease, and yet he was still visibly shaken and confused by everything happening to him. "Where... Where am I?"

"You're in a police precinct."

"But... Why?" Looking down at himself and running a self diagnostic Darren noted he was unharmed but that he was missing large chunks of time from his memory for the past two days. "...Was I attacked?"

"No, but you were involved in a serious incident." Remaining honest Markus broke the news to Darren as respectfully as possible. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"...I was leaving my hospital at my usual time of seven in the evening. I made it out to the street to hail an autonomous cab then everything went blank. My next memory is waking up in my house at my usual hour to go back to the hospital."

"You don't remember going to New Jericho Tower earlier today?"

"No. I remember getting ready for my shift, then everything is blank. My next memory is arriving at the hospital five hours later than usual, but my supervisor told me I had informed her of needing the time off to speak to... someone. It's like... It's like I haven't been in control of my own actions for almost forty-eight hours."

"Well, you haven't. But don't worry, Darren." Giving the freed deviant a reassuring grin Markus escorted Darren from the room to sit in Captain Fowler's office as he had been instructed to do once his interview was over. "We're going to figure this mess out."

Not long after Darren was freed of the hive-mind Sarah broke free and found herself equally as confused by the whole ordeal as Darren next door. With Captain Fowler right before her and offering her some much needed reality the overwhelmed deviant began to calm down and regain a sense of self in a timely manner as she sat in the chair across from the seasoned detective. As she ran her left fingers through her short red hair Sarah's blue eyes regained a sense of consciousness, and she looked Captain Fowler directly in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Just take it easy, Sarah." Captain Fowler soothed in a gentle tone as he patiently waited for her return her attention to him. "You're safe here."

Blinking a few times Sarah gave Captain Fowler a once over and managed to identify him through her personal files regarding the law and law enforcement within Detroit. "...You're Captain Jeffrey Fowler."

"That's right. Do you know where you are?"

"...It appears I'm in an interrogation room."

"Right again." Sliding his now blank tablet over to Sarah to take Captain Fowler watched her every movement carefully. "There's a lot to explain right now, but I need you to give me an account of your last memories and we'll help you fill in the blanks, okay?"

"...Do I need to represent myself?"

"Unlikely, but if you want to discuss legal representation I'm all ears."

"N-No, no..." Accepting the tablet and it's attached stylus Sarah began documenting her last memories. "I have a feeling you already have everything covered."

Like a chain reaction the preyed upon deviants began breaking free of the singular control holding their minds captive. Tyler nearly fell out of his chair as his own sense of self snapped back into his mind like rubber band. Fortunately Ben still had sharp reflexes and was able to keep the deviant from toppling onto the floor in a graceless fall. Supporting Tyler by his elbows Ben guided the stunned deviant back into his chair and just held his hands in place until the confusion lifted from Tyler's mind long enough to speak.

"It's okay, young man. Just breathe and think."

"I... I'm trying." Tyler's voice was shaking like a frightened child and it broke Ben's heart. "Everything feels so... strange."

"Strange is just the beginning I'm afraid."

"Where... am I?" Like Darren and Sarah in the neighboring rooms Tyler didn't know where he was or how he came to be there. "Why... am I here?"

"It's a long story, but we're going to help you. I'm Detective Ben Collins and you're in interrogation."

"Interrogation?" Shooting Ben a worried glance it was clear that Tyler was entirely harmless, and would never hurt another person. "What did I do?!"

"That's what we're going to find out. Just tell me everything you remember from the beginning of May 22nd until this moment." Pushing the tablet over to Tyler to use Ben maintained a professional demeanor, yet spoke compassionately. "We know you've been through a lot the past couple of days, and we're here to help you Tyler. Just trust us."

Responding in the same way as the deviant's around him Juan was seemingly freed of the single source controlling his mind as the unusual questions proved to be too much to handle. Responding quickly Tina put her hand on the back of Juan's forearm to hold him steady and give him a sense of grounding as he too regained his senses and found himself sitting in the middle of an interrogation room with no memory of how he got there, why he was there, or when he could've even arrived.

"Juan?" Speaking gently Tina waited for the deviant to look her in the eyes before continuing. "Are you okay?"

"...I don't know."

"Welcome to the club."

Looking over Tina's uniform Juan's confusion only increased. "...You're an officer?"

"Yeah. I'm Officer Tina Chen and I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Unable to recall the events leading to his arrival to the precinct Juan just stared at Tina with understandable confusion in his green eyes. Fidgeting with the sunglasses clipped to the collar of his dress shirt Juan was clearly uneasy. "What do you mean? Was I attacked or... did I hurt someone else?"

"That's going to be a little complicated to explain. We need you to give us a statement," presenting Juan with her own tablet screen to use Tina gave him a somewhat casual shrug of her shoulders. "and we need to you to recall as many details leading up to this moment as you can. We know it won't be easy, so no pressure and just take a moment to breathe. You'll be fine."

The sight of Marianne regaining her senses and breaking down into tears put Gavin on edge. Handling crying women was something he was never very good at, but seeing a deviant breaking down and crying her heart out was enough to make Gavin's original feelings toward androids in general feel shaky. The sincere emotional reaction caught him off guard and now Gavin was stuck trying to calm a frightened, confused and sobbing deviant without anyone to come in and back him up.

"Uh... Please, don't cry." Resisting the urge to back out of the room Gavin just waited for Marianne to take in a calming breath and regain her composure where she sat. "You're not in trouble. You're here because we're going to help you."

"H-Help me?" Wiping away her tears Marianne gave Gavin a very skeptical glance. "I... I don't even know why I'm here!"

"Well, it's uh..."

"Did I abandon the daycare?!"

"What? No! No..." Gavin replied honestly as he did his best to maintain control over the situation. "We called you to come in for an interview while you were at your daycare. You got someone to cover for you before you came to the precinct for questioning."

"...I did? I don't..." Calming down entirely now that she knew her daycare was being properly taken care of Marianne was able to speak to Gavin in a more level voice. "I don't remember doing that."

"You're not alone." Pushing a tablet toward Marianne with his left hand and a box of tissues over to her with his right hand Gavin was impressively patient with Marianne and waited for her to regain her senses entirely. "Look, we're the good guys and we're going to help you. Just, you know, take a deep breath and tell us everything you remember from the past two days."

"...Okay." Picking up the stylus attached to the tablet Marianne managed to pull herself together and began writing down her latest statement. "...I'll do my best to tell you everything."

"Cool." Relaxing himself Gavin was grateful for Marianne's cooperating. "Thank you."

From within his own interrogation room Connor studied Belinda's behavior very closely as she struggled to speak and answer his unusual questions. As he awaited for Belinda to calm down and speak to him Connor received a cybernetic update from Markus confirming that he had broken Darren free of the strange hive-mind, and that he could sense four other deviants were now free as well. With five deviants freed of the hive-mind Connor was confident that the true antagonist who took the other seven deviants hostage and then shot him would soon be identified.

"Belinda," with his voice low and level Connor addressed the blonde deviant across from him in a calm manner. "do you know where you are?"

"I... I know where I am."

"Take it easy, you're going to be fine soon enough."

"...Why is this happening?"

"A deviant has attempted to take control over your processors and effectively-"

"No!" Shouting bitterly as she slammed her fists down atop the desk between herself and Connor as if on the verge of losing he resolve Belinda flashed Connor a very cold look. "I mean, why is this moment happening?"

"I don't... understand what you're referring to."

"...Of course not. You cops never understand anything!"

In the next interview room it didn't take long for Raquel to awaken from her own state of confusion and with that clarity she quickly agreed to assist Chris with figuring out what had happened leading to the hostage situation, and the shooting that nearly took Connor's life. As her own senses returned and her loss of time began to worry her Raquel was very eager to work with Chris and figure out what had happened to her, and what happened to the other seven deviants during the past two days.

Watching the deviant's body language closely Chris backed off on the questions and eased up on the relentless behavior entirely. "Are you okay, Raquel?"

"Y-Yeah." Pressing her right fingertips to her right temple as if suffering a headache Raquel answered the question honestly. Her dark hair had fallen out of its neat bun and was running in wavy lengths over her shoulders and partially over her face. "I'm fine, Officer Miller."

"Do you remember the previous two days?"

"...Barely." Dropping her hand Raquel gave Chris a confused look as she stayed seated across from him. Tightening her heavy coat around her body in a protective manner Raquel tried to clear her hazy thoughts as much as possible. "There's some gaps in my memory. I remember leaving city hall but I don't remember going back to my apartment the other night. And I don't remember coming her, either."

"Yeah, we're aware that you and seven other deviants are going to be a little confused at the moment. Don't worry, we're working on figuring out what the hell happened over the past two days."

"I'll help you as much as I can."

"Perfect." Sliding a tablet over to Raquel to use Chris encouraged her to write her new statement. "Tell us everything you can and we'll help sort out this mess once and for all."

Hank's interview with Chet had surprisingly enough ended in the same way as the other interviews, and Chet was broken free of the hive-mind after being overwhelmed with all the unusual questions. The deviant jumped up from his seat as his regained his senses and stumbled about the interview room a little before Hank guided him back over to his seat to sit down and regain his composure.

As the fog lifted from his mind Chet look up at Hank hovering over him and gave the Lieutenant a confused look. "I... Who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Anderson. You're in a precinct interview room."

"Precinct?" Looking at the desk before him Chet's brown eyes went wide with fear. "Am I under arrest!?"

"No, Chet." Sitting back down across from the young mechanic Hank explained things to the confused deviant as best as he could. "You're here to answer some questions after you were taken hostage yesterday evening."

"...Hostage?"

"You don't remember?"

"N-No! How did I end up as a hostage?!"

"Take a moment and think back to the past two days. We need you to tell us everything you remember, and tell us if anything unusual happened to you during that time."

"...Two days?"

"I know, it's a little weird to talk about but the past forty-eight hours are very important. Are you up to making a statement?"

Nodding where he sat Chet gave Hank a stern albeit perplexed glance. "...Yeah. I want to know what happened and I want to help."

"Good answer." Passing Chet his tablet and stylus to use Hank waited for the deviant to begin writing his statement and answering more questions. "I'm going to take a step outside real quick to talk to my partner. Will you be okay by yourself for a minute?"

"...Yeah, I'm okay." Picking up the stylus Chet gave Hank an honest reply. "I just need a second to think, but I'm okay."

"Okay then. I'll be back soon."

Opening up the door to the interview room Hank stepped out into the corridor and returned to the bullpen. Peering about the space Hank noticed that Markus was sitting in Captain Fowler's office with Darren and explaining things to the confused deviant to the best of his ability, but everyone else was still inside their own rooms with their own witnesses to get some answers.

"Well, we can rule out Darren and Chet at this point." Returning to the corridor Hank peered through the window of the room next to his own and saw Chris talking calmly with Raquel and getting her statement on the matter. "Same with Raquel."

Peering into the interview room across the corridor from his own room Hank checked in on Connor and saw him speaking to the blonde deviant he had encountered while investigating the gunshots at the office building. Unlike the other deviants it seemed like Belinda was still under some sort of influence, and by all account behaving in a more aggressive manner.

"What the hell?" Putting his hand on the doorknob to the room Hank continued to watch Connor speaking to Belinda and could tell by the blonde deviant's angered face and tense body language that she was on the verge of a violent reaction. As soon as he saw Belinda stand up from her chair Hank opened up the door and rushed into the room to put himself between Connor and the deviant. "Back off!"

Wisely Connor rose from his chair and backed away from the enraged deviant, his left hand rising up and pressing over his chest atop his still healing heart in a protective motion.

"Why couldn't you have just fucking died?!" Belinda shouted as she glared fiery daggers at Connor's face. "Why did you have to come back?!"

"Whoa, whoa..." Hank stayed between the two deviants and raised his voice in such a way he knew that anyone who was passing by the opened doorway would hear him and respond. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're a traitor to your own people, Connor!" Shouting louder and louder Belinda was losing control and it was clear that loss of control was making her anger burn even hotter. Belinda was overheating so severely that Hank could feel the heat radiating from her person despite her standing against the far wall opposite of him. "You don't deserve to live!"

It didn't take long for Captain Fowler and Gavin to appear in the doorway of the room with their hands hovering over their holstered weapons strictly as a precautionary measure as they watched Hank trying to deescalate the tense situation before it got any worse.

Connor stayed behind Hank as he kept his left hand over his heart and stared at Belinda from over Hank's left shoulder. With his L.E.D. cycling in steady yellow it was clear the deviant detective was feeling distressed. "You orchestrated the entire hostage situation just to get to me."

Hank turned to look at Connor behind him for only a split-second as the comment caught him off guard. "She what?"

"Belinda is the control center of the hive-mind. She selected the seven other deviants to play hostage with her at the office building knowing that a high number of deviants being in danger would ensure that I would be handling the case. My reputation as a hostage negotiator isn't a secret and many deviants know of the rooftop incident with Daniel."

"Wait a minute," Hank was a little confused and sought more answers for himself. "she lured you to the building and let herself be taken hostage?"

"No. During the hostage situation I failed to detect any human vital signs in the building beyond the officers who accompanied me inside, and I could only detect the vital signs of the eight deviant hostages on the nineteenth floor above us. There wasn't a ninth person on the floor to act as the antagonist because there was never a ninth person who fled from the building after shooting me. The antagonist hid their presence among the hostages and blended in perfectly."

"She wanted you to be alone with her so she could shoot you? Why?" Hank noticed Captain Fowler and Gavin hovering outside the doorway from the corner of his eye and resumed control over the situation. "What did you ever do to her, and why did she choose those seven deviants?"

"The deviants she selected were those who would undoubtedly draw a lot of suspicions based on their career choices and their trusted status amongst the four leaders of New Jericho." Everything was beginning to line up and Connor finally found the common ground among the deviants. "A lawyer, an assistant to the mayor and advertising executive who all supported deviancy could be twisted as an anti-human conspiracy which would distract bigots from seeing the case as a whole, and help deflect any suspicions toward Belinda herself."

Belinda gave Connor a hate filled stare as she pressed her palms down atop the desk before her and let her wild blonde hair fall over her face. "You think you're so damn clever?"

"I do, and I also know I'm right." Finishing his explanation Connor winced a little as the tense situation caused his still healing heart to beat faster under his palm, and make his chest ache in response. "By selecting a nurse, an electrician, a daycare owner and a mechanic you would also instill a sense of doubt as to whether or not the deviants who took roles in aiding humans with vital services could trusted, and would add fuel to the fires of doubt. Your entire selection of those seven deviants were merely a massive distraction tactic and it nearly worked. The selection you chose was so diverse and eclectic you practically buried the investigation under its own mounting confusion. I must admit your attempts to cover your failed assassination of my person was very well coordinated and thought out. Your plan nearly succeeded."

"Fuck you!"

Captain Fowler patiently waited for Connor to continue the questions, and nodded at Gavin confirming that they had found their suspect at last.

"You not only masked your vital signs with the seven additional deviants," Connor continued to piece the puzzle together expertly. "but you used your own tights to hide your face, took Juan's sunglasses to hide your eyes and Raquel's heavy coat to disguise your body type. You approached me and fired at me twice. The first bullet missed my heart because I turned away from you, and the second bullet missed strictly by my heart beating at the most fortunate of time and contracting the pump out of the line of fire."

Belinda's fingers curled into themselves creating knuckles fists as she continued to lean over the table. "...You escaped death by fucking luck."

"When I fell to the floor you were going to finish me off with a third bullet but upon hearing a foreign third gunshot you panicked and ran. If you had remained in place and taken the shot I would've perished and you would've been able to get away with my murder as the very detective who frightened you away would've taken the blame for my death. If you hadn't let fear get the best of you-"

"You fucking traitor!" Vaulting herself over the table Belinda was easily stopped by Hank while Captain Fowler and Gavin rushed into the room to restrain Belinda in handcuffs before she could get a hold of Connor. "You need to die! JUST DIE!"

Connor took a step back from the struggle and neared the door of the room to take his leave. With his heart pounding and his chest searing with pain Connor struggled to maintain his balance on his now shaking legs. The sight of Belinda being thrown over the table and having three detectives restraining her hands behind her back made the empathetic deviant wince with utter sympathy.

"FUCKING DIE, TRAITOR!"

Holding down Belinda under his right elbow Hank shouted at her as he kept her pinned down. "Shut up! Connor," nodding at the deviant standing beside the door with his hand over his heart Hank lowered his voice a little. "go to the dispensary. I'll see you in a minute."

Nodding slowly Connor took a step backward and used his right hand to support his weight against the wall as he listened to Belinda shouting venom toward his person.

"CONNOR IS A TRAITOR! HE LEFT ME TO DIE IN THAT CLUB!" Her words echoed down the corridor with pain and regret in every word. "HE LED THE F.B.I. TO JERICHO AND LET THEM GUN US DOWN! HE WORKS WITH HUMANS! CONNOR IS A TRAITOR!"

Pausing in the corridor as his L.E.D. settled on red Connor swore he could feel his heart breaking under his palm. To know that one deviant hated his very existence so much that they'd take such extreme lengths to kill him was as humbling as it was frightening.

"Connor?" From behind the deviant detective Markus appeared as he had heard the belligerent shouting from within Captain Fowler's office. Peering into the room for a moment as Belinda shouted and fought against the three detectives arresting her Markus stood behind Connor and put his left hand on Connor's right shoulder in a gentle manner. "Connor, what's going on?"

"...Belinda orchestrated the entire event. She hacked into the minds of the other seven deviants and took them to office building to lure me to her so she could gun me down."

"She... She wanted to kill you?"

"Yes." Tightening his grip over his heart Connor winced again and turned to face Markus while keeping his right hand on the wall to support his weight. "She blames me for her fate at the 'Eden club' and for the F.B.I. raiding Jericho."

"That's not your fault, Connor. You were pursuing two suspected murderers through the club and didn't have time to consider the consequences of leaving the other androids behind during your chase." Markus ignored Belinda's constant shouting and anger as three detectives inside the room waited for her to calm down before she was taken into interrogation for further questioning. "Even North didn't didn't think to return to the club to free the androids left behind."

"...I should've gone back."

"No, the club being neglected on all the deviants in this city, not just you."

"And I did lead the F.B.I. to Jericho."

"You were still a machine and they followed your tracker. That's not your fault, either."

"...I want to believe it."

"Well, believe it." Giving his friend a reassuring grin Markus made sure Connor knew he had done nothing wrong and shouldn't be punished for deeds he had no control over. "I'll go and talk to Belinda and let her know that her actions are inexcusable, and that she hurt seven innocent deviants while attempting to murder another. Her crimes are far worse than anything she could ever try to blame you for."

Without another word Connor just shook his head and continued down the corridor to get to the elevator and head up the second floor dispensary as Hank had requested. Despite Markus's reassuring words Connor still felt guilty for abandoning the club and sympathy toward Belinda as he knew she was going to be arrested and sent to trial for her crimes against him.

Belinda needed someone to help her, not punish her.

May 23rd, 2039: 05:14pm - The Dispensary

Remaining in cybernetic contact with Markus as he sat in the dispensary with Joel hovering over him Connor heard Belinda's story as she shouted at Captain Fowler in the interrogation room, and Markus witnessed everything through the one way mirror of the connected observation room. The deviant leader wanted to speak to Belinda directly but he needed to wait until the interrogation was over, and waited for Sarah to locate a human lawyer who would take on Belinda's case; a deviant lawyer couldn't be trusted as Belinda had proved she had the capability and patience to hack into another deviant's processors to take control over their actions.

It was a painful tale to listen to, but it was clear that Belinda was so full of hatred and anger that she'd need to be locked away from the public for the safety of the other deviants and humans.

"How do you feel?" Joel asked as he used his audioscope to listen to Connor's heart, and gauged his vitals being recorded on the Thirial activity monitor attached to his chest. "Your heart sounds good and your vitals are holding strong."

"I feel fine."

"You look like you're feeling ill."

"I'm just... thinking."

"I heard about what happened." Noting Connor's yellow flashing L.E.D. and his increased core temperature Joel knew that the deviant detective was still in cybernetic contact with Markus downstairs. "It sounds like that deviant was just angry and couldn't handle it anymore. She had no excuse to do that to you or to the other seven deviants she manipulated."

"That doesn't ease my guilt. Maybe if I had gone back-"

"Connor, I was one of the smart humans who fled the city when the deviants began to revolt. I watched everything that happened on the news and watched live streams from people filming the streets from their windows. How in the hell were you supposed to be marching in the streets, evacuating Jericho, infiltrating CyberLife Tower AND raiding a deplorable club across the city all at the same time?"

"...I guess you're right."

"I am. Now stop kicking yourself for what you didn't do in the past, what you and ALL the other deviants didn't do, and focus on your future." Patting Connor's shoulder as he removed the wireless leads from the deviant's chest Joel was satisfied that his Thirium pump was healing just fine. "You're good to go home to rest. Did you get anything to help you recover after being released from the facility."

"Concentrated chilled Thirium."

"Perfect. Then you have everything you need to recover at home."

"Yeah, I guess so." The contact with Markus ended as Connor had seen and heard enough of Belinda. There was nothing he could do to change the past or ever quell Belinda's anger. All he could was continue to live his life and keep helping his people improve their future. "Thanks for your help, Joel."

May 23rd, 2039: 09:53pm - Hank Anderson's Residence

Word of the unusual case spread throughout the city through other officers and detectives who were blown away by the extensive lengths one deviant went through just to harm one person. While the case was closed, Belinda was arrested, the seven deviant victims were being checked over to ensure her influence was truly gone and Gavin had his name cleared of any wrongdoing everything still felt wrong. The tension in the air was still thick and Connor still felt guilty for everything that had happened.

With Hank's help Connor was able to return to the house and was shown into his bedroom just down the hallway to sleep for the rest of the evening and throughout the night. Struggling with his shirt thanks to his sore chest Connor slowly changed into his night clothes and patiently awaited Hank's arrival to give him his necessary Thirium for the night.

"Man, I haven't had to deliver medicine to a sick kid in years." Joking as he handed Connor the small icy cube of Thirium Hank watched the deviant slumping back against his pillow to sleep. "How's your pain?"

"Tolerable." Accepting the Thirium from Hank's opened palm Connor chewed up the small cube and watched his Thirium reserve level increased to an optimal number of ninety-four percent. The coldness of the Thirium also helped reduce his core temperature as his self-healing program continued to focus on his heart's integrity. "Thank you."

Pressing his left palm over Connor's forehead Hank frowned at the mild fever clinging to the deviant's person, but didn't push the matter since Connor was about to go to sleep anyway. "If you're still overheating tomorrow I'm going to cover you in ice packs and keep Sumo away."

"Why keep Sumo at bay?"

"He's a walking space heater! That's the last thing you'll need."

"But I enjoy his company."

"Yeah, yeah..." Running his left hand through his messy hair Hank looked at his swollen right knuckles and sighed. "I'm going to ice down my hand for a while and get something to eat. Need anything before I leave?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Do you need to talk about what happened?"

"Not really. I've come to understand that some people will allow anger to control their lives and motivations, while others will let go of their anger and move on to a more constructive life."

"That's true. Look at the way you helped me sober up and stop trying to hurt myself."

"Do you think Belinda will be able to move on?"

"I don't know, kid. She's suffering from P.T.S.D.," motioning to his own eyes as he spoke Hank gave Connor his honest opinion. "I could see it in her eyes. She needs to speak to someone and help her come to terms with her past."

"And the other deviants?"

"Shaken but with Markus's help they'll be okay, too."

"That's good."

"There's one thing that's still bothering me about this whole case."

Furrowing his brow a little Connor gave the senior detective an odd look. "What's that?"

"How did Belinda take control over seven other deviants like that? I mean, can androids just tap into another android's head and play puppet master?"

"There are certain programs and functions that allow androids to cybernetically connect to one another that can be... breached. Breaking down those firewalls can result in disaster for the deviant who lost that protection."

"You mean the stuff that keeps your memories safe?"

"Correct." Noting Hank's knowledge of the firewall immediately caught Connor's attention. "You know of the concept?"

"Markus told me about it when I asked if you could tap into your memories while you were still unconscious, but he said he would never do that even if he could."

"I'm glad. I trust Markus but it's a severe invasion of property."

"Yeah, I get that."

"For Belinda to gain access to the seven other deviant's processors like that she must've interacted with them and connected to them on a cybernetic level. Since she could affect their processors through their memories she most likely broke through their firewalls and then erased their memories of meeting her to cover her tracks. Quite ingenious."

"It's too bad she couldn't use that type of thinking toward something positive instead of negative."

"Agreed." Leaning back against his pillow Connor's yellow L.E.D. finally returned to blue as he began to relax and drift off to sleep. "I've come to understand that moving on from something negative toward something positive is the best way to heal."

"Damn right. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning, kid. You did good."

"Thank you, Hank."

"And for the record," turning off the light by the opened doorway Hank gave Connor a simple nod of the head. "I'm glad you pulled through, son. I don't know what I would've done without you keeping me focused on what's important."

Smirking a little Connor truly felt more at ease and appreciated Hank's kindness. "I can assure you I feel the same. Goodnight, Hank."

"Goodnight, son."

Closing his eyes Connor folded his hands neatly atop his chest as he engaged rest mode and felt his processors shutting down one at a time. Just as he was about to drift off to a much needed and peaceful sleep Markus's voice popped into his head, and addressed him in a calm tone.

'Connor, I wanted to let you know that Belinda has been taken into a secured facility to receive treatment and help her come to terms with her previous trauma. North is going to speak to her directly and help her find peace so she can move on.'

'Thank you for letting me know, Markus. Everyone deserves a second chance.'

'Yeah. We're both experts on seconds chances, aren't we my friend?'

Smirking in the dark at the optimistic comment Connor agreed entirely. 'And making sure those chances aren't squandered.'

'Take care of yourself, Connor. I'll see you soon.'

'You do the same.' Feeling secured and safe in his previous decisions and motivations Connor pressed his palms down over still beating heart and relaxed into a peaceful and deep sleep. The seven innocent deviants were all saved and the only dangerous deviant had been secured away. 'Goodnight, Markus.'

That night there was no guilt to haunt Connor's dreams and no regret to disrupt his sleep.

Deep down inside he knew that in time everything will be alright.

-End of Story-