SYNTHETIC [Connor/RK800]

Sublevel -10 (the Girlfriend Repair Shop)

The people of Jericho sought refuge in an abandoned, decrepit church. The ceilings were caved in, allowing snow to fall in. It was beautiful in a way, almost like a macro reenactment of the way dust filters through sunlight. The stained glass windows painted the floor around them a soft blue, and it made Connor feel terrible. It reminded him all to much of blood. He sat on the floor, slowly petting Eve's hair.

Even in death, she was beautiful. The soft pink of her lips stood out in the moonlight, while the rest of the world was desaturated. Her red hair fell delicately, though some of it was clumpy from the blood. Connor stroked her white cheek with his thumb, tears blurring his vision.

Markus approached him, which encouraged Connor to dry his tears. He spoke to Markus. "It's my fault the humans managed to locate Jericho. I was stupid. I should've guessed they were using me. I'm sorry, Markus. I can understand if you decide not to trust me." Connor said, voice hoarse from holding back tears.

Markus could tell he was blaming himself for Eve's death, and not coping well. Others had chosen to leave their loved ones behind, he'd been holding onto her corpse for hours. It wasn't healthy at all. 

"You're one of us, now. Your place is with your people." Markus said, deciding to leave him alone to grieve.

"There are thousands of androids at the CyberLife assembly plant. If we could wake them up, they might join us and shift the balance of power." That was partially just an excuse to get into CyberLife. 

If there was a chance that he could revive Eve, he would take the opportunity in a heartbeat. Deep down, Markus knew that. However, he knew Connor was partially right. He also knew that Connor's chances of healing mentally after seeing Eve die were slim. The curse of having emotions for the first time was not being able to block them out or desensitize oneself from them. 

"You wanna infiltrate the CyberLife Tower? Connor, that's suicide."

"They trust me, they'll let me in. If anyone has a chance of infiltrating CyberLife, it's me." Connor insisted.

"If you go there, they will kill you." Markus said. 

"There's a high probability. But, statistically speaking there's always a chance... for unlikely events to take place.

"Be careful..." Markus said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Connor knew what the look in Markus' eyes meant. 'I know why you're really doing this'. He could appreciate a friend calling him out and not letting him lie, but right now he needed to lie. Not only to Markus, but to himself. Belief that there was still a chance to save Eve was the only thing keeping him from dying too. 

As quick as possible, Connor got Eve in a duffle bag. He felt awful doing it. He was desecrating her corpse by doing this, but it was the only way he would be able to get her into the building. Softly, he tucked her knees up to her chest despite the tightness in his throat. His fingers slowly smoothed out her hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He whispered. 

He zipped up the bag, holding it in his lap. Snowflakes flew past the tinted windows of the cab. Connor bit his lip as it slowed in front of a pair of guards. 

"Connor Model #313 248 317. I'm expected." He spoke clearly to the android who approached the vehicle. 

The guard gave the okay, allowing the taxi through the gate. The car continued driving through the snow toward the headquarters, and Connor found his leg to be bouncing like a human's would. 

The headquarters building was a menacing contrast to the peaceful night sky. Obelisk-esque, it stood far above the city and came to a harsh point at the very top. It would be pretty in daylight and in better circumstances, but at the moment it sent chills through Connor's titanium alloy spine.   

His involuntary leg-bouncing made him wonder whether or not androids were supposed to be human originally, because he hadn't been taught this behavior. However, the thought was off-handed and had no basis. His mind quickly went elsewhere as the taxi came to a halt in front of the building.

Stepping out, he held the duffle bag casually by his side. If he seemed nervous, it would mean tipping off the guards. Androids were trusted still, for the most part. To them, he was equivalent to an electric toothbrush. No feelings, no ulterior motives. As long as he maintained such a facade, he would be left alone. 

A guard motioned at Connor's duffle bag with his gun. "What is that?" 

"Evidence from the Eden Club case. I was instructed to bring it here." He lied smoothly.

Technically, Eve could be considered evidence from that case. However, it was still a lie. She had lived past her lover, and her horrible death had nothing to do with the case. The guard accepted the answer, probably under the impression that androids never lied. 

"Follow me, we'll escort you."

"Thanks, but I know where to go." Connor replied calmly.

"Maybe, but I have my orders." The guard said, his voice clipped.

Connor held his breath as he walked through the holographic identifier that glowed around the lobby doors. If for whatever reason it misidentified him, or alerted the guards to his deviancy, he knew he would be shot on sight. 

"Connor android identified." 

In the inside-middle of the massive obelisk stood a tall, onyx statue. It was humanoid, but all of the natural curves a human would have were all angular. The statue held a glowing orb of some sort, but Connor didn't have time to examine the statue more. He walked towards the elevator, the walkway to it lined with androids standing on platforms as if they were mannequins. How dehumanizing. 

 Walking into the elevator flanked by two guards, Connor quickly began to formulate a plan. The elevator would be the ideal place to incapacitate the guards, considering the lack of sufficient cameras and the confined space. The camera would be easy to hack, and there was only one. The elevator had a voice recognition, Connor would need to sample the guard's voice for that. 

The guard was planning to go to level 31, but Connor knew he would need to go to sublevel -10 in order to find the technology to revive Eve. But first, he would need to go to sublevel -49 to retrieve an intact Eve model. The elevator started to go up, and Connor knew it was time to act. 

Hacking the camera, he began to assess which guard to attack first. The one closest to him would be ideal, he could be fast enough to incapacitate the other guard. Lunging at the guard, he kicked him into the wall. Behind him, the other guard rushed at him to protect his peer. Connor kicked him swiftly in the abdomen, turning his attention back to the guard in front of him. He kicked him in the knee, taking his gun. 

It should've been easy to shoot the guard behind him, but his peer decided to jump on Connor's back. He kicked the guard behind him in the face to keep him down, slamming the guard on his back into the wall. He elbowed the guard in the stomach, getting him off. He shot him in the head, leaving only one guard left to deal with. That guard was gone before he could react. 

Immediately changing the destination to sublevel -10, Connor unzipped the duffle bag. He hid the gun, and pushed the guards up against the walls to hide them from the view of others. He scooped Eve out of the duffle bag, cradling her delicately.

A worker approached him. "Can I help you?"

"I was instructed to bring this model here, she is a witness in an investigation and she needs to be reassembled for interrogation." Connor lied smoothly.

The worker motioned for him to lay her on an examination table. Connor did as he instructed, laying her down delicately. 

"I can do my best with her, but I doubt I can get this one in working order. Can I transfer her memories to a compatible model?" 

"Of course, as long as she can be subjected to interrogation. Now, I must speak to my superiors. How long will it take?" Connor stated. 

 The guy examined the huge crater in her neck. "Maybe an hour? I'll make sure you're notified." 

Connor walked off into the elevator after that, praying he would be able to see Eve again.