The Creed of Detroit

Chapter 10- Friends and last chances

12:26pm- Hank's House

Vera

Hank screwed the burger wrapper into a ball and pushed it into the middle of the table. Vera laughed.

"Come on, I bet you can't get that into the trash can over there." She pointed to where it sat under the window. Hank raised his eyebrows. "You like basketball, right? Humour me."

She grinned as he picked it up, weighing the distance. Then he threw it in an arch over Connor's head, and straight into the trash.

Hank crossed his arms smugly, but Vera threw her hands in the air and gave a whoop. She grabbed hers, laughing already, and threw it in the same arc as Hank. Only she missed. Hank chuckled, shaking his head as she groaned lightly. Connor smiled distantly, staring at the table.

Vera tilted her head. "You okay, Connor?"

Hank sighed. "Don't let that psycho Kamski get to you, Connor. It was just a friggin' test all along. I should've just marched you straight outta there."

"No. No, I'm fine." Connor paused, raising his head a little. "He said I was deviant. But... I'm not, right?" His voice lowered almost to a whisper.

Hank shared a glance with Vera before she responded slowly.

"I... don't know, Connor. You're thinking for yourself and deciding for yourself. You've become... well, more human, I guess."

Connor blinked, brow furrowing. His lip trembled slightly.

"But I'm not. I have a mission and I will complete it. We will find the deviant leader before this uprising gets out of hand." His voice rose, defiant. Afraid.

Hank's phone dinged. He pulled it out of his pocket, holding it a bit further away from his face. Then he raised his eyebrows and frowned. Turning, he shouted:

"Television on!"

"What's going on?" Vera asked.

The tv turned onto the news. There was a video of a crowd marching down the street. Hundreds of them. And they were all androids.

"We are live now as the SWAT team have just arrived to stop the deviants' march..." the newsreader cut in before the next video was shown. There were the androids. Standing still before the guns.

"We came here to demonstrate peacefully. And to tell humans that we are living beings," Markus declared.

"This is an illegal gathering. Disperse immediately or we will open fire!" The policeman shouted through a megaphone behind the shields.

"We don't want confrontation. We've done no harm and have no intention of doing any. But we're not going anywhere until we've secured our freedom."

The policeman wasn't listening. "I repeat, this is an illegal gathering. If you do not disperse immediately, we will shoot!"

Markus' friends, those who were in Stratford Tower with him, began to speak to him frantically. They looked afraid but determined.

Almost immediately, one shield went down, and two policemen began shooting at the crowd before them. Androids were shot. Blue blood sprayed as they dropped to the ground.

"Jesus Christ..." Hank muttered. Vera jumped, forgetting her own surroundings as she stared horrified at the tv.

"Disperse! This is your last chance!" The officer screamed.

The reporter remained silent as it cut back to him for a split second. He shook his head, making sure the camera was fixed on the androids.

The androids remained still. A moment later, the shields came down again and the guns were pushed forward.