Hank walked into the DPD, just looking for anywhere he could go. He hadn't realized how much he would change in three years. He didn't even know where home was anymore.
He had tried going home. Back to the two story home he had lived in with his wife and son. Apparently he had sold it two years back when Cole died and his wife left. Now, he didn't know where to go. His phone had broken in the accident, too.
Jeffrey had told him he was still working in the precinct, though. He could at least get some coffee in him and find out what to do next. He hadn't expected the whole force to be in the office at 10:30pm, though.
"A party without me?" Hank asked. Reed jumped, spilling his coffee, and everyone looked his direction. "Fucking assholes didn't even think to ask me, did ya?"
"I thought you were at the hospital still." Fowler responded. He had seen Hank not four hours ago at the ER. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Fucking androids decided to get me involved in their shit." Hank pulled up a chair. It was weird to see them all sitting in a circle like a fucking slumber party rather than calling across the room. The hell were they even doing?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Miller looked concerned. Hank had only known the man for a few weeks since he had transferred into the department. At least, that's all he could remember. He had to keep reminding himself that three years had passed.
"It's a long story." Hank didn't really want to get into it, either.
The way Connor acted bothered him. Not in a bad way, but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He really acted like he knew Hank. He took the shit most people found annoying in stride and rolled with the punches like a fucking champ. Hank could really believe they had been friends and he had only had a few conversations with the damn thing. Or person. Whatever it was.
Then Connor had up and fucking left him. "Go home." He had said. "This isn't your battle." After fucking saying they were partners. Fucking dick.
"Tell us anyway." Jeff ordered.
Hank shrugged. He didn't like everyone watching him. "I got kidnapped by Connor. But, like, an evil Connor or some shit. I'll fill out a report about it later, but I feel like one kidnapping isn't very fucking important right now, so..."
"Wait, Connor kidnapped you?" Reed asked. "What the fuck?"
"It was a bad Connor. Or RK800. I don't know. He tried to blackmail Connor-Connor with me at CyberLife."
Hank could see their brains processing. He sounded fucking crazy. What was he even supposed to say? Reed shook his head.
"I can't believe CyberLife actually tried that. They're just fucking taking humans now?"
"I'm not surprised." Chris shook his head. He turned to Hank. "Where's Connor?"
Hank shrugged. He had a headache and he didn't know Miller much. He had only been on the force for a few months before the accident. Maybe they had become friends. He seemed nice enough.
"I bet we'll see him on the news here soon." Reed snickered. "Especially after what he did to the bastards at CyberLife."
Reed hated androids. That much Hank knew. He hated androids more than he hated Hank, even.
"Yeah, stealing hundreds of androids is bound to get you some publicity." Chen chuckled.
"More like thousands." Hank corrected. He grabbed a chair and joined the circle. "There were thousands."
"You think there's going to be war?" Miller looked concerned.
No one answered. Humans couldn't even keep from going to war with other humans, let alone machines. The last thing anyone wanted was a second civil war. What would even happen if there was a war like that? How many people would die? Hank didn't even want to think about it.
"If it comes to war, we're going to be in a tough spot." Fowler said. "The higher ups already want us to be out gathering androids and taking them to the camps."
"Hell no." Reed crossed his arms. "You can't seriously expect any of us to participate in the massacre going on right now."
"That's what I told them." Fowler nodded. "They didn't like that much."
"Since when did you give a shit about androids?" Miller asked, he seemed just as surprised as Hank was. "You fucked with them all the time."
"Since I made Connor shoot himself in the fucking face, dumbass."
"Wait, what?" Hank should have gotten used to being blindsided by shit he missed, but obviously not. "What the hell?"
Everyone was staring at him, now. "You really don't remember anything?" Chen asked quietly. They all wore the same damned pity on their faces. It ticked him off.
"No. I don't." Hank sounded more defensive that he needed to be. "I don't have a fucking clue what the hell is going on, and I'm getting sick of it! What the hell happened before the accident, and why does it involve me?"
"Connor happened." Reed responded. He was as aggressive as Hank was. Never one to be the more levelheaded in a discussion. "Your android partner was pretty fucked up. I don't even think he believed he was alive. Whatever the hell CyberLife did to him, it got to anyone that worked with him for any damn length of time."
"How can someone not believe they're alive?"
"Like I'd have a damn clue. You worked with him. You should know more about this than us, but you had to drink and drive, and now no one knows what the hell to expect from Connor."
Hank thought back to the Connor he had seen in CyberLife's tower. He was confident and focused. He lead the androids out without hesitation. It was completely different than the android who had been crying in the hospital room, and even more different than the Connor that had kidnapped him. He wondered if he would really understand even if he did remember.
"Hey, I found Connor!" Wilson yelled from the break room.
Everyone ran to the TV, watching as Connor and Markus walked towards a government agent. Both sides had armies behind them, but it was obvious that the android's had the massive advantage. The news anchor was talking about how this conversation could very well decide whether it was going to be a war or not.
"Damn it. They're all going to get killed." Reed spat. "What the hell is he doing?"
"This is just in, but it seems Elijah Kamski, creator of CyberLife, is going to be having a press conference in twenty minutes at Stratford tower." The news lady said, obviously shocked. "This will be the first time in almost ten years that Kamski will be in the public's eye."
"I should have known that bastard would show up in all this." Reed spat. "He makes the damn things, then runs and hides with all his money. Now they want freedom and look who crawls out of hiding again."
"At least he's doing something." Fowler said. "We're just being little bitches."
"What are we supposed to do?" Chen asked.
"You got a badge and a uniform. You have more power to do something than a citizen like Kamski, and your sitting here, bitching about how he's a coward."
"You trying to tell us to fight against the soldiers?" Reed asked.
"I'm saying you should be doing what we swore to do. Protect innocent life."
"How the hell are we supposed to do that?"
"Round up androids." Fowler replied. "Just like we were ordered to. Only instead of taking them to the Camps we get then somewhere safe."
The officers looked at each other. Everyone knew what this would mean. If they got found out, they would probably more than lose their badges. Was that worth it? Hank tried to reason his way around it. All he could thin of was Connor pleading with him to let him save the androids. They were people. That was Connor's message. They deserved to live.
"I'm in." Miller said. "If I can save some lives, then I'm going to try." He looked around. "I just want to call my wife one more time."
He left, the fear of what he was doing radiated from him. Hank wished he knew more about the man. The others all agreed one after the other. Hank, too. He had nothing to live for now, anyway. A part of him wanted to help Connor. He wanted to believe that Connor was a friend.
"Suit up." Fowler said once everyone had agreed to his plan. "The sooner we get out there, the better."
