The Straight and Deviant Path

Heartless

Everyone managed to make it out of Jericho alive, luckily for them. But they ended up stuck in an abandoned church, their numbers brutually cut down in size. Connor leaned against the wall, apprehensive as ever. Markus approached him slowly. "I was stupid. I should have known they were using me. I can understand if you decide not to trust me."

Deviancy brought many new emotions, including shame. Connor felt it wash over him, making his processors uncomfortably warm. But a gentle hand on his shoulder completely cleared it away. "You're one of us now." Said Markus firmly, and Connor almost smiled.

The revolution was over. The androids had won their freedom, for now anyway. What did he do now? Well, Hank offered him a place to stay, and he took it. They both needed somewhere to be at that moment. Cyberlife was scrambling to cover their asses and hate crimes were skyrocketing, so Connor wasn't exactly out of a job.

But he couldn't stop thinking about Markus. The man that made it all possible. When he'd freed Connor, it had been the strangest thing. Like everything inside him shifted, and opened him up to new possibilities. Emotions, and many of them. What he did with those emotions, Connor wasn't quite sure. He knew he felt love for Hank, familial love. It made him want to take care of Hank, to dump out his alcohol and make him eat more than just take out and burgers.

This wasn't the same with Markus. Whenever he saw the revolutionary, Connor just felt... warm. He admired Markus yes, but he was also fascinated by the android. Gentle, firm, and quietly imposing. He inspired so many androids, yet quenched all violence. Markus was an enigma, and a fascinating one. He just wished they had more of a chance to talk.

Connor pushed these thoughts away as Hank's car rolled to a stop. They had been called in for another android murder, which was unfortunately frequent in the recent days. There was a faint drizzle of rain. Connor decided he liked the rain, but not standing in it. Hank grumbled to himself as they entered, acting his usual grouchy self. Not that Connor minded much, it was just how Hank was.

"So what's the deal?" The Lieutenant asked. The officer on duty scratched his head, regarding the two of them wearily, especially Connor.

"It's brutal, you might want to leave him outside."

Connor's jaw clenched, and he stood straighter. "I can handle it, thank you officer."

The man looked sheepish, but nodded. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

As soon as they entered, the smell of burning metal filled Connor's nasal receptors. He flinched slightly. "Jesus fucking christ..." Hank sputtered. The officer hadn't given them ample warning at all. The crime scene was absolutely brutal.

The android was a model YK700, a maid for hire android. She'd been living alone in her small house, thanks to the new rights being implemented by the government. Now she lay motionless, clearly dead. Her body was intact for the most part, aside from the gaping hole in her chest where her thirium pump used to be. Her head was completely torn from her body, and placed delicately in her lap. Blue blood was used to paint words above her head. "You have no heart."

Connor stepped closer, swiping some of the blood and putting it into his mouth. He pointedly ignored Hank's noise of blatant disgust, analyzing the thirium. It was mixed with another android's, slightly contaminated. There was a struggle. He examined the blood again, and found the writing to be absolutely perfect.

"An android did this." Connor finally said. Hank looked at him in surprise.

"What? But why would an android kill another android like this?"

"I don't know Lieutenant, but there was a struggle. Her thirium is mixed with that of another model, but I'm not sure which one, it's far too diluted."

Hank swore, but he didn't seem angry at Connor. Just angry in general. Humans were odd that way. "Damn, android murderers, what is happening in this world?" He wandered away, muttering to himself. Connor decided to wander the rest of the crime scene. However, the android left little evidence besides the body, so it was hard to figure anything out. He had a general outline of how she might have been killed and what events transpired, but nothing more than that. Connor was frustrated, for lack of a better word. This was a case that truly stumped him. That never happened! He was an android!

No closer to solving this case, he and Hank drove home. Possibilities ran through Connor's mind at a rapid fire pace, trying to figure out what this could be. Why would an android kill someone like this? It was needlessly cruel. And this android was confirmed to have no current connections with any other androids. Unless...

"It was a message." Connor said suddenly. Hank jolted in surprise, not expecting the android to speak.

"Jesus christ kid! What are you talking about?"

"The murder!" Began Connor, urgent. "She was just a means to an end. The killer was using her to send a message to someone else. Someone they want to find. She was a demonstration, a threat."

Hank pulled in to the driveway, getting out with Connor. "So are you saying that she's probably going to be the first in a series?"

"Yes! If I'm right, we're going to see something similar soon. In which case, we might have a serious issue on our hands." Connor was equal parts excited, and nervous. Who could an android want to hunt down? And why did it require such a brutal murder?

The android mulled this over as they went inside, only pausing to absentmindedly scratch Sumo's head. "I'm not drunk enough for this shit. Listen, you keep doin' your analysis shit or whatever, I'm going to bed." The Lieutenant griped, already shuffling to his room.

"Of course, goodnight Lieutenant."

"It's Hank!" The door shut, and Connor was alone again.