Thirty minutes felt like two. Getting the androids that were left organized with battle stations and weapons was a mad dash. Markus spent the entire time getting groups together and telling them what to do. Connor and North were equally as busy. The timer in Markus' head ticked down until finally he had done all he could. He joined Connor and North at the main entrance to the camp.
"They blocked all signals." Connor commented as they watched the soldiers scramble around. "I lost contact with the other teams."
Markus watched somberly as the army surrounded them. It was 8,000 to 10,000 now and they were grossly outgunned. They could come at any moment and kill them all, but they never left the barrier.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Markus looked to Connor. The android was frowning.
"They don't need to. At least, not yet. They have us where they want us, so they can take their time getting ready."
"So now we get to just sit here and wait for them to kill us." North spat. "We could have moved. We could have fought them off when there were less of them, but we just sat here and waited for them to outnumber us."
"North..." Markus turned to face her.
"No, this is on you." North pushed him away when he tried to step closer. "All these deaths are on you, Markus."
She turned and left. She made a bee line for the tents where the non-combatants were staying. Markus watched her go, then turned back to where Connor was.
"We'll set up watches. Keep everyone ready and alert everyone as soon as they start moving." Markus ordered. Connor nodded his agreement. "How long do you think it will be?"
"I'm not sure." Connor replied. "It could be an hour, it could be twelve. They won't drag it out for too long, though."
Markus just nodded and left. He needed some space for a while. North's anger stung and he didn't know how to deal with Connor. He looked for a secluded place and sat leaned against a wall.
Forty minutes later Connor found him. He had a line of thirium dribbling from his nose.
"Are you alright?" Connor asked.
"Are you? What happened to your nose?" Markus had the feeling he already knew.
"I was attempting to reconcile with North. It didn't go very well." Connor sat a little ways away, looking out into the snow.
"Sorry, she has a hard time trusting people." She was feisty. It would get her into trouble.
"It's okay, I'm used to it. I expected the androids to be hostile and distrustful of me." Markus could see the loneliness behind his calm demeanor. It was like looking in a mirror. "I want to apologize for my actions against Jericho. I know I can never redeem myself for the grief I caused, but I can't thank you enough for trusting me enough to let me help."
Markus looked Connor over. He was sitting in a falsely relaxed pose, staring into the snow just outside the camp. The weather had turned sour, covering everything with a light dusting. The camp and surrounding area was lit by floodlights in the dark, but it just gave an eerie look to the world.
"Why did you decide to help us?"
Connor didn't answer for a long time. He was a statue. The only indication he was processing was the spinning yellow LED.
"I didn't want to get involved after I left CyberLife. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was killing was bad and CyberLife was bad.... When I thought about what you were doing I saw something I could do to help. Something that you needed. It was a goal to accomplish, and that's what I'm built to do. I always accomplish my mission..."
