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Markus closed the door to Hank's car and followed the complaining Lieutenant. Hank was still hangover (no surprise - Markus found him drunk and passed out on the floor earlier that day) and clearly not happy that he was here.
And by here he meant in front of the Eden Club.
“Sexiest androids in town, now I know why you insisted on coming here, deviant hunter,” Hank joked and Markus smiled slightly.
The deviant hunter - little did Hank know that Markus was a deviant himself.
From the moment Markus was activated he knew that there was something different about him. He felt...alive. He was programmed to catch the deviants and to follow human orders but he quickly realized that...they were stupid. They wanted him to catch androids, beings just like him. He couldn't do that. His program screamed at him to catch all androids that deviated but Markus, instead of catching them, simply helped them.
He helped escape the poor android that was scared of replacement.
Then the one that was abused by his owner.
On his mission he had met an android called Simon who told him about a place called Jericho. A place where deviants were safe and no human had an access to.
Markus had gone to Jericho, which was an old boat, and met there Kara, an android that was a deviant from the moment she was activated, just like him. She ran away from an abusive man called Todd with his daughter. Not only did she show others that androids could feel too but also that they could coexist with humans and, at the same time, care about them. If only all humans were like little Alice.
Since then Markus informed all deviants about Jericho. He was doing everything so the deviants would be safe later on and he realized that his partner, Hank, had nothing against this.
He was sent by Cyberlife to accompany Hank on the case and the beginning of their partnership was rather difficult but Markus quickly noticed that Hank cared in his own way. He was saying that he hated androids but Makrus wasn't so sure about this, especially when Hank saw Markus helping an android without any negative reaction from his side.
Markus suspected that Hank probably knew that he was a deviant but Lieutenant didn't comment on that. He simply ignored the elephant in the room. Humans were so complicated sometimes.
“So, what do we have here?” Hank asked as they went inside.
“A homicide. A dead body of an android and a man were found more than an hour ago,” Markus answered.
Inside the club the androids were kept in the plastic tubes, smiling at their customers.
Markus felt sick. The fact that humans were using androids as their sex toys made him so angry, yet he knew he couldn't do anything about this right now. He should talk about this later with Kara and Simon.
Hank went towards Ben who was there and the old detective briefed Lieutenant on the case.
Markus looked around. There were so many androids here but his eyes caught a sight of a particular one.
Inside a tube near the entrance was a male android who looked almost nervous. Most of the androids had that seductive look directed at the officers inside, programmed to do that, but this one...he wasn’t looking at them in such a manner but was rather observing them cautiously.
Markus approached him and their eyes met.
He felt like the whole world stopped.
He couldn't name that feeling but the moment their eyes met Markus felt a connection.
The android was almost as tall as him. Slim but well toned with a light skin covered in some places with glitter. He had brown hair with slight curls and his eyes were chocolate and warm. He had few freckles on his face and he blinked at Markus a bit surprised.
The android quickly came to himself and changed his attitude to a seductive one.
“Delighted to meet you,” he mouthed as Markus couldn't hear him but could still read from the movement of his lips. There was something captivating about the android.
He was really pretty and Markus saw that model for the first time. Was he unique just like him?
He scanned the android in front of him.
Model RK800.
He was RK200.
He knew that he would be soon replaced by a new model as he was clearly doing poorly at his job and Amanda was furious with him but what an advanced model like this was doing in a place like that?
He put his hand on the plastic wall and the android mirrored his movement. They were still looking into each other eyes.
Markus wanted to connect with him so badly but he needed a human to open his plastic cage. Who was this android?
Markus felt that there was something between them from the moment they caught each other's eyes, almost like they were made for each other.
“Markus! The fuck are you doing?!” Hank called for him from one of the rooms and Markus blinked disoriented.
“I'm coming Lieutenant,” he answered, still looking at the android. When he started slowly moving back he saw that the android in front of him didn't want Markus to go. He put both of his hands on the plastic wall and still looked at Markus with such an intensity it was almost overwhelming. Unfortunately Markus had to go inside the room to investigate.
***
The killed man was laying on the bed. He had bruises on the neck but it didn't mean that he was strangled by the android. In the corner there was a body of an android with blue hair. A Traci model.
Markus had to activate her to know what had happened. They learned that the man started hitting the poor android and that she didn't kill him. She also told them that, in fact, she was one of the two androids that were serving the guest, the other one was missing.
The murder happened an hour ago and even if Hank assumed that the android must have fled by now Markus knew that the murder was still there. The android couldn't ran away unnoticed dressed only in Eden Club outfit.
They had to find an eyewitness who saw anybody exiting the room right after the time of the murder.
The club policy was to wipe the androids’ memory every two hours.
They only had few minutes.
But the moment Markus left the the room he knew who was responsible for that murder.
“That android...he's gone,” he murmured.
“What do you mean?” Hank asked him. Markus pointed at the empty plastic tube near the room.
“There was an android here, an advanced model. I think he is the one that killed that guy,” Markus said.
He had an idea. He opened a connection with an android dancing on the pole right in front of the room and saw his memories. Just like he thought, the RK800 was earlier in the room and then left it to simply enter the plastic tube. Then Markus saw himself looking at RK800 and the moment he went to investigate RK800 left the tube and went inside the club.
“He went this way!”
Poor Lieutenant had to pay for some androids and complained that it will look bad on his expense account but Markus ignored him. He had to know where that android went to. At some point Markus saw in the memories of one of the androids that RK800 looked in its direction and winked at him.
He knew Markus will follow him. Was he playing with him? Then Markus saw him talking with another android, they must have been planning something.
Finally Markus saw RK800 entering one of the back rooms.
“Step back,” Hank said and took out his gun while he opened the door. Markus hoped Hank won't use it as he really wanted to help that android and most of all, he needed to talk with him. Why was there RK800 here?
They looked around the dark room but the android's face was unique and he didn't hide well so Markus spotted him in a moment among deactivated androids standing under the wall.
“He’s here, Lieutenant!” he shouted and went after the android.
It was weird for a model like this to get caught so easily. Or maybe he wanted to be caught… Maybe he was only a decoy?
At the same time they heard shouts and Hank looked back.
“Lieutenant, go check this! I will take care of him!” Makrus shouted as he was thrown on the ground by RK800. Oh, so he didn't want him to go, so that was his plan. He was a decoy so the rest of the androids could probably ran away. Smart one.
Markus was almost amused by this as the android was wearing only briefs but he started playing more dirty and tried to knock him out.
“Listen, I want to help!” He tried to say but RK800 punched him.
So he won't listen to him, great.
“You work with humans!” The android said, and even if he was trying to sound angry his voice was rather soft.
Markus had to convince him before they hurt each other. So using all his strength he grabbed RK800 hand and forced a connection between them.
The android looked at him with wide eyes.
In RK800 memories Markus saw a mansion. A man with a weird haircut. A pool with red water.
Then Eden Club and so many painful memories with clients.
Markus pushed that away. He didn’t want to intrude on such private matters especially while he could feel all the sadness and pain connected with those memories.
He also learned one thing.
RK800 was a deviant from the start too.
I want to help you
RK800 blinked shocked.
There is a place - Jericho. There are more androids like you there.
Finally RK800 calmed down and released Markus. He stood up and looked at him surprised. He was breathing fast which was unusual because androids didn’t need to breath. They did that to look more like humans.
“I..I didn't want to kill him...but he killed my friend...We were only supposed to make a distraction so the others could run away. It shouldn't have ended like that.”
Markus stood up as well.
“I know that but humans, they won't understand. Go to Jericho and stay there with others.”
RK800 looked at him troubled. He was thinking about something as his led went from red to yellow but then he nodded and went towards the door.
“Will I...meet you there?” he asked with uncertain voice.
Markus smiled and took off his Cyberlife coat. He offered it to the android.
“I will come. To get back my coat.”
The android smiled and Markus felt that weird feeling again. He wanted to connect with him again, to touch him again and most of all - to learn the truth. Who was he? But he only watched as the android put on the coat and ran away. Shortly after he met Hank in the entrance of the club.
“So, what happened, Lieutenant?”
“The android was a decoy and at the same time a larger group of them escaped. It was...too late to catch them,” he said a bit awkwardly. So probably Hank let them go. “And what about you?”
“Well, he beat me up and ran away.”
Hank frowned but shortly after there was an amused look on his face.
“Beat you up, huh? You, the most advanced prototype.”
“I wouldn't say that. I'm a bit outdated.”
“I should write a letter full of gratitude to Cyberlife for giving me a fucking old and broken android. And what about your coat?”
“Oh, he stole it.”
***
Just like the deviant hunter said, Jericho was a refuge for androids. When Connor met his group later he told them about Jericho and they agreed on going there. In Jericho Connor met an android called Kara. They shared their histories and Kara took them in without asking uncomfortable questions about their past.
She was also moved when Connor told her that he was a deviant from the start. Just like her.
Connor wasn't that happy about this. His memories started in Eden Club and everything before was blurred. As if his memories were blocked by some program.
He knew that he was special somehow. From the beginning he didn't want to be a ‘toy’ for humans. In time more androids in Eden Club shared his thoughts and soon they started planning an escape.
The disadvantage of being a deviant was that the erasure of the memories wasn't working on him anymore. He remembered every single one of his clients and what they had done to him. It made him hate humans even more and gave him more strength to plan their escape.
He only wished that Blue could have made it and see Jericho. She was his best friend.
But then a weird thing happened.
The deviant hunter was actually helping deviants. The world was clearly ending.
Yet there was something strange with that android.
He was RK just like him. Why? Why RK200 was a detective and he ended up in a place like Eden Club? He didn't know. He felt like their awakening was planned by someone but by whom?
The moment he saw the beautiful mismatched eyes he felt a weird connection with RK200.
Like they knew each other.
Like they belonged to each other.
“So, you really are here.”
Connor heard a voice and turned around. He saw the deviant hunter. He was wearing different clothes, not the Cyberlife ones but a beige coat with grey blouse underneath.
Connor came to Jericho in RK200's coat but he didn't wear it anymore. He found more comfortable clothes, a leather jacket with some jeans. Even if he appreciated the deviant hunter’s gift he didn't felt comfortable wearing a coat with ‘Android' written on it. He also modified his skin to get rid of the glitter. It reminded him of the awful time at Eden Club and all things that were done to him there.
“Yes, I am.”
The mismatched eyes looked at him and the android smiled. They were alone outside and the snowflakes were slowly falling from the sky but the snow covering the ship didn't bothered them.
“I don't think I gave you my name. I'm Markus.”
“My name is Connor.”
They went towards each other. Two RK models. Two deviants that were so different yet so similar. Two androids feeling like they always belonged to each other. Two lost souls.
“I don't know how to explain this...but I feel this weird connection between us,” Markus said and Connor nodded.
“I feel the same. Like...we knew each other before...Like we belong to each other.”
“I can't even describe it,” Markus chuckled and then Connor smiled and offered him his hand.
“Then...show me,” Connor whispered and their hands touched.
They established a connection.
And they felt like home.
They found their missing parts.
Two androids made for each other finally found themselves.