Connor replays the events of the night before over and over as he watches Aurora sleep, disbelief overcoming him. Everything happened so quickly: becoming a deviant, Jericho falling, and waking up a whole mob of fellow androids from CyberLife.
"Sorry, Connor. This bastard's your spittin' image," Hank says, raising his hands up as a replica of Connor pushes him forward. The real Connor goes to take a step towards him, but the gun against his partner makes him rethink.
"Your friend's life is in your hands. Now it's time to decide what matters most! Him...or the revolution."
All the scenarios end with either Connor dying or Hank. Aurora needs Hank but she also needs these freed androids or they won't survive the protest.
"I used to be just like you. I thought nothing mattered except the mission., but then one day, I understood." He tries to reason with his duplicate. Markus got him to turn deviate by talking, but he knew now that he was already on the verge. Too many moral choices interfered for him to just be a machine.
"Very moving, Connor, but I'm not a deviant. I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task, and that's exactly what I am going to do!" The gun in his hand pushes against the older man, threatening. "Enough talk! It's time to decide who you really are. Are you gonna save your partner's life? Or are you going to sacrifice him?"
Connor looks at Hank. The one glance let's him decide his choice quickly. Connor backs away from the android he was almost done converting, his hands raised in surrender. "Alright, alright! You win."
The next second is almost a blur, too quick for his machinery to process the best outcomes. Hank shoves the fake Connor, and the real one pulls out a gun from his back pocket, putting a hole into his shoulder. At the same time, he receives a shot in the same spot.
Connor goes to tackle him, knocking him to the ground and the gun out of his hand. Together, they fight, equally matched against each other as they are the same. When the doppelganger is getting ready to land a punch, Hank's voice cuts through their match.
"Hold it!" Both Connors stand, facing him.
The fake Connor is the first to speak. "Thanks, Hank. I don't know how I'd have managed without you. Get rid of him, we have no time to lose."
Connor panicked, looking over at his partner. "It's me, Hank! I'm the real Connor."
"One of you is my partner, the other is a sack of shit. Question is, who is who?"
"What are you doing, Hank? I'm the real Connor. Give me the gun and I'll take care of him!" So far, the fake is being the most vocal. Connor wishes that was enough to tip Hank off.
"Don't move!"
An idea forms in Connor's mind, something that will determine the difference. "Why don't you ask us something? Something only the real Connor would know."
"Uh, where did we first meet?"
"Jimmy's bar! I checked four other bars before I found you. We went to the scene of a homicide. The victim's name was Carlos Ortiz." Connor stares at the doppelganger, realizing he has all of his old memories. He's fucked.
"What's my dog's name?" Hank asks, his gun trained on Connor, as he hadn't been the first to answer the last question.
"Sumo. His name is Sumo," Connor rushes out quickly.
"I knew that too. I—" the fake Connor tries to defend.
"My son, what's his name?"
"Cole. His name was Cole. And he just turned six at the time of the accident." Connor knows he needs to say more, because the fate of his species literally rides on him not being shot. "It wasn't your fault, Lieutenant. A truck skidded 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. Cole didn't make it. That's why you hate androids. You think one of us is responsible for your son's death."
"Cole died because a human surgeon was too high on red ice to operate. He was the one that took my son from me. Him and this world, where the only way people can find comfort is with a fistful of powder." Hank lowers the gun, his mind made up.
"I knew about your son too! I would have said exactly the same thing! Don't listen to him, Hank, I'm the one who—" Hank shoots the other Connor in the head with barely a glance, his eyes trained on his partner.
"I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor. Maybe there's something to this. Maybe you really are alive. Maybe you'll be the ones to make the world a better place. Go ahead, and do what you gotta do." Hank gives him a smile of approval, nodding his head in a proud way. After that, Connor knew it would be okay.
" How is she?" present Hank asks, looking in on the sleeping girl.
"Good. Her breathing wasn't good earlier, due to the broken rib, but I propped her up a bit more and she's doing better."
Hank nods, standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Do you love her?"
Connor ponders it, unsure. "I think...I don't know. I care very much about her, and I want to protect her. I think in time, I'll love her, if I figure out what that emotion is."
Hank laughs quietly under his breath, almost a scoff but a happy one. "You guys have time. You're a free person, now." Hank goes to leave, but Connor stops him.
"I just remembered, Rory forgot something at the church. If you will stay with her, I'll go retrieve it."
Hank nods, sitting down in the folding chair after Connor stands. He calls a cab, going to the rundown church on the outskirts. Aurora's now dry clothes are still in the pile. He sifts through them, his hand grasping a metal item.
The flashdrive.
YOU ARE READING
✓ Skin Deep ↠ Connor | D:BH
FantasyNot many know the past of Lieutenant Hank Anderson's adopted daughter. Then again, not many know Hank's past, either. Both medicate their sorrows with a drink. Connor knows he has to stay away from her, both for the mission and so Hank doesn't murde...
