United Hearts

Chapter 7

Two of the guards got inside the elevator, with Connor standing in the middle of them. One of them pressed a button and spoke: "Agent 54, level 37". Connor looked at the man. The elevator was equipped with voice recognition. Of course it was. This was CyberLife. Connor took a mental note of it before looking around the room to find a wall with the different levels. He needed to somehow reach the Warehouse. But it was on the -49th floor. So basically, the complete opposite direction. The only way to do this was to neutralize them before the elevator was able to reach the 37th floor. He had limited time to find a way to get rid of them. So he started to preconstruct a way to do that. Just then, suddenly, his heartbeat quickened. A lot. Alarmingly high. He didn't know where it came from. It caught him off guard. He took a step back, putting a hand on his chest. He had to get it under control, but he couldn't. He couldn't calm down.

They had strapped Y/N down on a table. "We have to switch it off ASAP. I cannot stand this screaming and whining,", one of the people in the room said, their voice full of annoyance. Their coworker laughed, putting a hand on their shoulder: "Let Kamski inspect them first. THEN you can get your hands on them and break them apart as much as you want". Suddenly, Y/N stilled. Kamski? Kamski was going to personally come here? To see them. Their heartbeat was so loud and so fast that it pounded against their chest like it wanted to escape. They felt so scared, so anxious, and so lost. They cringed, remembering how they had told the android in the other cell how they wouldn't mind dying because they put their trust in ra9. But now? They didn't care about ra9. Or the other androids. Or anyone else. All they wanted was to run away, far, far away. Somewhere, no one could ever find them again.

Connor dropped the gun in his hands, standing in the warehouse surrounded by corpses. The guards who tried to stop him. The warehouse was filled with androids, standing in rows that almost seemed endless. It looked like someone just copied and pasted them. The same model in the same uniform. But at the same time, those were the ones that would help them win. He had to convert them. Or at least one, and then let it spread. So he walked up to one of them, but before he could grab the android hands, he put his hand on his chest once more. His heart rate was still spiking, despite him being calm. He didn't understand. He thought of Y/N at that moment. They were somewhere in this building at this moment. What were they doing to them? Are they even alive? Connor shook his head. He had to stop. Stop thinking about them. The faster he finished the job here, the faster he could try to find them. And maybe he'd find them alive. He had to.

Connor turned his skin on his hand off, grabbing one of the androids hands. "Easy, fucking piece of shit!..". He recognized the voice. And turning around, it confirmed it. Hank was pushed around and held at gunpoint. By.. himself? "Step back, Connor! And I'll spare him", the android yelled. He wanted to stop him from converting the android. And he took one of the only people he cared about as a hostage. But how did he know? How did he know he cared about Hank? Just because they worked together before?

"Sorry, Connor," Hank said, a small hint of regret in his voice. "The bastard's your spittin' image..", he said, pointing with his head to Connor's doppelgänger. "Your friend's life is in your hands. Now it's time to decide what matters most! Him.. or the revolution". Connor's eyes widened. The android wanted to get him to stop converting the android. And Connor couldn't finish converting it without concentrating. He looked over to Hank, who stood there with his head low. "Don't listen to him," Hank spoke up. "Everything his fucker says is a lie!". He wanted to convince Connor to continue. To forget about him. He was putting his life in danger for him. For him to survive. Connor had to do something. "I used to be just like you. I thought nothing mattered except the mission.. but then one day I understood!". The doppelgänger looked at him. If he wasn't a machine, he would've probably laughed now. "Very moving, Connor. Did your little android friend help you 'understand'? Is that it?". He was talking about Y/N. For a brief moment, he took note of his still-rapid heart. Hank looked confused for a moment before he seemed to understand who he was talking about. "They understood. I don't know why, but they did. They know better. You can too," Connor tried to press. Images of him and Y/N flashed through his mind—the time they first met and talked. So little time was spent together, yet they meant so much to him, and he didn't understand why.

"They're the enemy, Connor. You shouldn't have talked to them. OR let yourself get fooled by them.". Connor wanted to speak up before he got cut off: "Enough talk! Are you going to save your partner's life?", he pointed the gun closer to Hank, "or are you going to sacrifice him?". Connor had to make a decision. Now. "Alright, alright!", he raised his hands, backing away from the model he wanted to convert. "You win." The doppelgänger pointed the gun at Connor, and suddenly Hank tried to grab the weapon from his hands. He shoved him to the ground, and Connor used the opportunity to run towards the android. With the gun dropped, the two started fighting with their fists. Boxing, kicking, and shoving. There are wounds and scraps everywhere. Just then, a voice called out, "Hold it!". Hank had grabbed the gun, pointing it at the two of them. But he didn't know who the doppelgänger was. It was evident. And the enemy knew. They slowly stood up, letting go of each other. "Thanks Hank. I don't know how I would've managed without you.. Get rid of him; we have no time to lose!". Hank pointed the gun at Connor now. He had to let him know that he was the real one. Things couldn't end this way. If he died, Hank would probably die too. So would Y/N. And possibly all the androids in the march at the moment.

"It's me, Hank! I'm the real Connor". Hank switched, pointing the gun at the doppelgänger, but he couldn't tell them apart. Not a change. "One of you is my partner.. the other is a sack of shit. Question is.. who is who". The doppelgänger looked at him closely and said: "What are you doing, Hank? Give me the gun, and I'll take care of hi-". Just before he could finish his sentence, Hank took a step forward, yelling, "Don't move!". But he was still unsure. Connor had a plan.

"Why don't you ask us something? Something only the real Connor could know!" He hoped that would work. Hank thought about it for a moment. "Where did we first meet?". But before Connor could answer, the android spoke up first: "Jimmy's bar! I checked four other bars before I found you". Connor realized that he had uploaded his memory. They knew the same things.. almost. "What's my dog's name?", he was pointing the gun at Connor. "Sumo! His name is Sumo", the thought of the fluffy St. Bernard flashed into his mind. A gentle giant. "I knew that too," the doppelgänger called out. This was never going to end. Or end badly. "My son.. what's his name?". Hank dragged out the words. It was hard for him to speak about his son, but he knew this could only be answered by the actual Connor. And he did: "Cole.. his name was Cole.". Connor's voice grew softer, more careful to choose the right words on a topic like this. "And he just turned 6 at the time of the accident..". The more information Connor could lay out, the better. "It wasn't your fault, lieutenant. A truck skitted on a sheet of ice, and your car rolled over. Cole needed emergency surgery, but no human was available to do it. So an android had to take care of him.. He didn't make it. That's why you hate androids..". He noticed the look in Hank's eyes. He knew that his partner understood that he was the real one. "Cole died.. because a human was too high on red ice to operate. He was the one who took my son from me.. Him and this world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder..".

The moment of connection between the two of them was disrupted: "I knew about your son too! I would've said the exact same thing!". But Hank knew. So he shot the doppelgänger. A wave of relief washed over Connor. It was over, he survived. "I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor". He looked at his partner: "Maybe there's something to this.. maybe you really are alive. Maybe you'll be the ones to make this world a better place..". He smiled at him, almost in a fatherly comforting way. "Go ahead, and do what you gotta do". Connor nodded a little and turned around. But before he returned to his task, he looked at Hank again: "Hank.. I need your help with..", "I know", he interrupted him. "I'll try and find them". Connor stood there for a moment before he smiled a little, relieved. He could finish his job in the warehouse while someone was on the lookout for Y/N. He placed a hand on his chest. His heart was still beating fast. Too fast..