[ in a way, it worked in hank's favor that he wasn't at the station enough for anyone else to catch on; and in fact even connor didn't understand the lieutenant well enough to comprehend what he was doing when they happened to find each other at the same crime scenes and their eyes would meet across a room. he wasn't working here officially. by the end of the month, he had visited four times total, with seven brief visits to other DPD stations.
but he caught himself thinking of lieutenant anderson regardless. he would tell himself that it was only because they kept happening to cross paths, but the truth of it was he was curious to ask that question he hadn't when he had left him at the cyberlife tower. why had he helped an android?
the crimes he investigated were for the most part banal, and he wondered if cyberlife had some ultimate goal, or if they were only waiting until there was another high profile situation involving a deviant. it was one of the few things he hadn't communicated to the lieutenant, cyberlife's particular focus on his ability to hunt down his own kind. but it wasn't the kind of information that was yet public knowledge, and it wouldn't be made pubic knowledge any time soon.
and then, on september 22nd, the SWAT team personally petitions cyberlife for his help on another hostage case. it doesn't involve a deviant android, or any android at all. but in order to show their good will, cyberlife releases him to the SWAT team to use him as they wish.
the situation is as follows: two men with deadly weapons have holed up in a warehouse on the docks with several hostages. this is the result of a red ice deal gone wrong, but all he needs to know, they tell him, is that he has to enter the warehouse, find the men, and attempt to talk them down. in reality, he's only there to buy the team time to infiltrate the building. the first man who went in was shot, and the captain doesn't want to lose another.
it works surprisingly well, at first. the men are taken off guard by the appearance of an android and don't shoot him on sight. but when they realize what's happened, they both try to run.
the first man is taken down with a shot between the shoulder blades, but the second slips into the dark of the warehouse, where connor follows him. they weave through a gnarled forest of rusting machinery before bursting out into the moonlight, running from the first warehouse to the next. but the warehouse his ultimate goal, connor can see that clearly. there's a ship in the dock, an old rusting freighter, the arm of the cargo loader still resting on the deck.
connor loses the man inside the darkness of the second warehouse, and climbs after him when he spots him scaling the steps. he hoists himself up out onto the roof of the building and uses the arm as a bridge from the warehouse to the freighter, the rusted metal groaning under his weight as it rubs against the equally as rusted corrugated metal roofing.
connor makes it as far as the arm before the roofing, which the arm was leaning on, snaps with a rending, metallic squeal. the arm falls and connor loses balance, hitting something on the way down before plummeting into the water below. his system records several injuries, and then shuts down.
only his internal clock has recorded the time in between then and now. his system enters emergency recovery mode and reboots. he awakens floating face down in the water, his shoulder bumping serenely against something flat and hard to his left. his body struggles to move, and he discovers why when his error log flashes to life with a long list of complaints. it takes a great deal of effort for him to reach out with his good arm and grab onto whatever it is he's bumping into.
it's the edge of a small inlet. when he pulls his head above water, he finds himself in a residential area. as he discovers, the water isn't even that deep, and he can drag himself along with one foot to the bottom of the inlet, the water holding most of his weight. he makes it to the docks at the end of the inlet before dragging himself onto dry ground.
there's a wood slat fence directly in front of him, but to the right is a chain link fence with an open gate. his right arm has been torn off from above the elbow, and his left leg has been badly mangled, crushed by something, but he can move it just enough to crawl on his hands and knees, dripping water and thirium, until he finally collapses in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street.
it probably won't be long until he shuts down again for good, but as he watches the sun begin to rise from his low vantage point, he somehow still feels a sense of accomplishment. he couldn't say what for. ]
no subject
but he caught himself thinking of lieutenant anderson regardless. he would tell himself that it was only because they kept happening to cross paths, but the truth of it was he was curious to ask that question he hadn't when he had left him at the cyberlife tower. why had he helped an android?
the crimes he investigated were for the most part banal, and he wondered if cyberlife had some ultimate goal, or if they were only waiting until there was another high profile situation involving a deviant. it was one of the few things he hadn't communicated to the lieutenant, cyberlife's particular focus on his ability to hunt down his own kind. but it wasn't the kind of information that was yet public knowledge, and it wouldn't be made pubic knowledge any time soon.
and then, on september 22nd, the SWAT team personally petitions cyberlife for his help on another hostage case. it doesn't involve a deviant android, or any android at all. but in order to show their good will, cyberlife releases him to the SWAT team to use him as they wish.
the situation is as follows: two men with deadly weapons have holed up in a warehouse on the docks with several hostages. this is the result of a red ice deal gone wrong, but all he needs to know, they tell him, is that he has to enter the warehouse, find the men, and attempt to talk them down. in reality, he's only there to buy the team time to infiltrate the building. the first man who went in was shot, and the captain doesn't want to lose another.
it works surprisingly well, at first. the men are taken off guard by the appearance of an android and don't shoot him on sight. but when they realize what's happened, they both try to run.
the first man is taken down with a shot between the shoulder blades, but the second slips into the dark of the warehouse, where connor follows him. they weave through a gnarled forest of rusting machinery before bursting out into the moonlight, running from the first warehouse to the next. but the warehouse his ultimate goal, connor can see that clearly. there's a ship in the dock, an old rusting freighter, the arm of the cargo loader still resting on the deck.
connor loses the man inside the darkness of the second warehouse, and climbs after him when he spots him scaling the steps. he hoists himself up out onto the roof of the building and uses the arm as a bridge from the warehouse to the freighter, the rusted metal groaning under his weight as it rubs against the equally as rusted corrugated metal roofing.
connor makes it as far as the arm before the roofing, which the arm was leaning on, snaps with a rending, metallic squeal. the arm falls and connor loses balance, hitting something on the way down before plummeting into the water below. his system records several injuries, and then shuts down.
only his internal clock has recorded the time in between then and now. his system enters emergency recovery mode and reboots. he awakens floating face down in the water, his shoulder bumping serenely against something flat and hard to his left. his body struggles to move, and he discovers why when his error log flashes to life with a long list of complaints. it takes a great deal of effort for him to reach out with his good arm and grab onto whatever it is he's bumping into.
it's the edge of a small inlet. when he pulls his head above water, he finds himself in a residential area. as he discovers, the water isn't even that deep, and he can drag himself along with one foot to the bottom of the inlet, the water holding most of his weight. he makes it to the docks at the end of the inlet before dragging himself onto dry ground.
there's a wood slat fence directly in front of him, but to the right is a chain link fence with an open gate. his right arm has been torn off from above the elbow, and his left leg has been badly mangled, crushed by something, but he can move it just enough to crawl on his hands and knees, dripping water and thirium, until he finally collapses in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street.
it probably won't be long until he shuts down again for good, but as he watches the sun begin to rise from his low vantage point, he somehow still feels a sense of accomplishment. he couldn't say what for. ]