Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Waiting
Good things are worth the wait. Good people are worth a lot more.
It’s been hours since he got home from CyberLife. Hours, since he last heard from Connor. The TV’s been on constantly, he saw the News on Channel 16 and then on five different channels too.
They won.
The peaceful demonstration had reached the ears of the White House. The soldiers stood down. Negotiations have started. Markus is alive, his speech to the thousands and thousands of androids has been broadcasted.
Hank saw it, watched it over and over, not because he found it so interesting, but because Connor was there too standing right behind Markus with a couple others. He looked strange and it worried Hank. At one point, Hank could swear he saw a gun in his hand, but the next moment it was nowhere.
There is no information, no news since then. Everyone talks about Markus, and not Connor. Markus was brought to the White House. Markus sat down to talk to President Warren. But what about the others?
There is absolutely no news whatsoever regarding Connor and Hank has a horrible feeling. He tries to watch the TV, but he can’t sit still for more than ten minutes. Then he jumps up and starts marching up and down restlessly, waking up poor Sumo every time.
He grabbed a beer an hour ago, hoping that alcohol might settle his nerves at least a bit, but the bottle lies still untouched on the living room table. There’s one more next to it, opened about half an hour later when he forgot he already tried that particular option and it didn’t work.
He goes to the kitchen table and checks his gun. All bullets loaded, just to be sure. He checks his phone, nothing. Not a single message. He wants to throw it away, but it’s the only way he could hear from Connor so instead he makes sure he has enough battery (it’s on 80%) and places it gently back on the table.
A couple hours ago, just as he got home from CyberLife, Fowler called him. He’s still not sure what the conversation was about since he only heard fragments through Jeffrey’s furious hollering, but he has a good guess, given his boss’ opening shout was: “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS YOUR ANDROID DOING IN THE REVOLUTION?”
Hank shrugged it off. Fowler assigned Connor to be his partner, so it was all his fault, if the kid learned from the best how to not follow orders.
He sits down in the kitchen, trying to leave Sumo be. At least the dog should get some rest if Hank can’t. He checks the phone once more, making sure it’s not on silent, then sinks his hand deep into his pocket. He fishes out the small coin. It’s a perfectly normal quarter, that now feels warm against the middle of his palm.
He places it on its edge and flips it, watching it spin in one place. When its momentum slows, he stops it and repeats the motion. He plays with the coin for a while, his legs restlessly twitching underneath the table.
After all the booze and unhealthy food, it will be this fucking waiting that will end up killing him for sure.
He refuses to look at the clock. It must be around three already, which means he’s been kept in the dark exactly too fucking long, but it’s not like he can just call around and ask someone, although he might just get desperate enough. He could technically reach Perkins, but he doubts the FBI Agent would want to talk to him after what happened at the station. The memory makes Hank’s fist throb, but also brings a fond smile to his face.
His fingers fist around Connor’s coin, as he drops his head on his hands.
“Where the fuck are you, kid?” He grunts with a rough voice.
No answer comes and as he sits there at the kitchen table, he feels all strength leave him. He hits his forehead against his fists a couple times, maybe somewhat harder than necessary.
“Not again…” he murmurs into the darkness. “Not fucking again…”
Behind his closed eyes, he sees Connor’s confident smile as he heads out with the androids from the loading bay of the CyberLife Tower. He’s not ready to lose that goofy voice, those warm brown eyes. He’s not sure he would ever be ready for that.
In a course of a god damn week, Connor went from “stupid fucking android” to “partner he would risk his life for” and if now it’s going to be “partner who died”, Hank knows that will be something he won’t be able to just walk away.
He tries not to think of that, tries to concentrate on the darkness he sees and just that, nothing more. He tells himself to breathe, and he holds that stupid coin as if it would be an extension of Connor. Soon, the darkness looks back with soft brown eyes and he knows he has fallen asleep.
^^^
He wakes with a near heart attack. The phone beeps and vibrates right next to his head on the table and the sound jolts him right awake. He looks at the screen but the message is from a random number. He almost discards it but then the text displayed gets his attention.
Breakfast?
He looks at the clock on the wall. Double checks the clock on the screen, too, just to be sure. Yeah, it’s fucking five in the morning. Who the hell is this?
He looks at the number but he doesn’t recognize it, not even a portion of it. He searches his mind for any conversation in the past couple of days that would have led to an early (damn early) breakfast, but there’s nothing.
He stares at the screen and the text displayed on the middle of it. He’s expecting only one call, but Connor would never in a million years text like this. His heart hurts a little when he thinks of what Connor would write.
Hello Lieutenant, would you like to have breakfast? How about a smoothie to start the day in a healthy way?
He snorts at the idea.
A minute goes by and he still just stares at the screen. Possibilities zig-zag in his mind, for a second, he thinks this is what it must be like to have your processor overload. They just liberated (stole) thousands of androids from CyberLife, he knows the company won’t let it go so easily. They knew it was Connor and that’s why Hank is so worried for his life. Sooner or later they are going to come after the android who cost them a whole fortune to produce and ended up causing a big shitload of trouble for them.
They already tried with a fake version, another Connor, who knows how many lookalikes there are still out there. Those things would talk and act exactly like Connor. They know that now. Connor knows that now. Hank was lured out of his house with a message from Connor earlier and it almost cost both of them their lives.
His thumb hovers over the small letters of the keyboard, shaking slightly. He’s not really making a conscious decision when he hits the “w” nor when he types the rest of the letters. He just hopes. He wants to have faith and he wants to believe that it’s Connor reaching out through this random number. He has nothing to go on, not really even his gut telling him it’s his partner. He just wants it to be true.
He hits send and almost throws the phone away as if it were hot. It might be a trap. It might be Connor. He has to risk it.
The answer comes not even ten seconds later. He grabs for that blasted beeping machine like a drawing man grips for the lifeline.
Breakfast?
Where?
I know a good burger place
It’s him. He knows it’s him. It can't be anyone else. But why the cryptic messages? The weird style? Is he being tracked? Is he in danger?
Hank jumps from the table, and grabs for his gun. He’s almost out the door, when something else occurs to him. If Connor is on the run, or at least hiding for now, he’ll need some other stuff, too. He grabs his spare gun and some clothes, rummages in the kitchen drawer for a set of keys he hasn’t touched in ages. What else? Cash. No food. He stuffs all of it into a bag then heads out to the car.
He parks on the side of the road next to Chicken Feed. Gary is not there yet, after all, the sun is barely coming up, it’s way too early for him to open.
Hank gets out of the car and walks in front of the truck. He looks around but he’s all alone. He knows this is the place, there’s no question in it. He waits, walks up and down in the cool morning air, snow crunching under his feet.
Suddenly he hears footsteps and he looks up. Connor is walking towards him, wherever the hell he came from Hank doesn’t care, he’s there that’s all that matters. His heart is threatening to break through his ribcage, it’s suddenly beating too fast. The immediate sense of relief that fills his chest is so damn powerful it makes his knees tremble.
His folded hands fall from his chest to his sides as he faces Connor. They just stand there for a long moment, Hank’s eyes rake over his partner looking for anything blue, his uniform torn or even a piece of white silicon showing that would mean he was injured, but he seems fine.
Once that gets to his mind he moves closer, grabs the kid by the neck and pulls him into a firm embrace. Connor comes, smiling wordlessly, arms twining around Hank, holding him tight.
Fuck it feels good. After last night, after all the worry, after everything that happened in this god damn city, it feels as if this single hug would make all of it go away.
“Are you okay, Connor?” Hank murmurs into his hair, unwilling to let go just yet.
“Yes, Lieutenant.” Comes the simple answer and Hank lets out a shuddering breath.
They hold on a second longer then pull apart.
“How did you know it was me?” Connor asks.
Hank shakes his head and shrugs. “I didn’t.” They move towards the car and Hank leans against it. “So, what happened?”
“CyberLife tried to hack me,” Connor says simply. “Reset me.”
“Kill you, you mean.” Hank corrects seething quietly with fury. That was what he saw on the TV. Connor was holding a gun, almost shooting down Markus. Fucking son of a bitches.
Connor nods. “Yes. I managed to find a way out, but we have to make sure it can’t happen again. Your life could-“
“Don’t you just worry about my life, Connor, I’m not the one who woke up an entire army of androids. You have a plan? What can I do?”
Connor smiles. “Nothing. I should be fine once I can get off grid from the CyberLife servers completely. I detached myself, but there is still a link that needs to be severed.”
“You shouldn’t be out here if they’re after you. Especially not wearing that,” Hank nods at the uniform. “Giving them a call would be more subtle, for Christ’s sake.”
Connor looks down at his jacket, at the RK800 written on it. It’s as if he’s only realizing what he’s wearing. “They must be monitoring your communication channels, which is why I had to resort to texting like that from a borrowed phone. In my haste, I… forgot to consider my wardrobe. Not that I would have many options, anyway,” he says. “My priority was to make sure you were all right, Lieutenant.”
The half-smile that vibrates on the corner of Connor’s lips has Hank loosen up slightly although most of what he says ought to be concerning. The fact the kid was worried about him, makes his heart melt a little.
“Good thing you have a partner, then,” he says then reaches in the car through the open window and pulls out the duffel bag. He drops it on the hood and waves Connor closer.
“I’ve put in some clothing, money, and an extra gun if you need it. Do you have a place to stay?”
“I’ll find somewhere.”
“You can come home with me. Sumo wouldn’t mind the company, besides, punching Perkins earned me a week off, if they even let me back…”
“You know I can’t, Hank. It wouldn’t be safe for you.”
Hank sighs. “I knew you would say that.” He fishes the set of keys from the bag. “I have a cabin, up north. The address is on the keychain. Go there, it’s safe. And for fuck’s sake, Connor, change your god damn clothes before you go anywhere else.”
Connor nods obediently. “Give me your phone, Lieutenant.”
It’s on the other side, so Hank has to climb almost in the car to get it. When he straightens up and holds the phone out for Connor, he finds the android half naked.
“It’s snowing!” He growls aghast, shivering just by looking at all that bare, naked skin.
“My cold sensitivity is deactivated.” Connor reminds him, pulling on a black shirt with an angry emoji on it.
“What about indecency sensors? Do you have those?” Hanks asks looking around, but thankfully no one’s nearby. Connor puts on a burgundy hoodie and black jacket, which though come from a time Hank was a lot smaller still look baggie on him.
He’s smiling when he looks up at Hank. “How do I look?”
“Like an android on the run,” Hank says drily, watching the blue LED blink on Connor’s temple. He leans back in the car and takes his Gears cap from the backseat, then slaps it on Connor’s head. He gives him another once-over. “Better. Now you look like a human on the run.”
“Perfect.” Connor beams.
“You need the car?”
“No, Markus got me one already.” Connor looks at the phone, seems to frown at it for a long second, his LED flashing yellow. “I accessed your phone and put up some firewalls. This way I can call you directly. I left the other phone with Markus.”
“Call me every day,” Hank says, pressing his pointing finger into Connor’s chest. “I’m serious, kid. If I don’t hear from you by ten PM, I’m on my way. Got it?”
“Got it, Lieutenant.” Connor nods solemnly and Hank’s glad he met no resistance.
“C’mere,” Hank says softly and hugs the android once more. Tentative hands rise over his back, but then he feels Connor hold on tighter, too. “I’m real proud of you, Connor.” He murmurs into the jacket so quietly, would Connor be human, he would have missed the sentence, but the fingers grasping into his coat even firmer tells him, he was heard.
He pulls away and holds Connor at arm’s length. “Take care, you hear me. Call, if you need anything.”
“I will.” Connor promises, then turns to leave.
“Hey Connor,” Hank calls after him. “When this shit is over,” he says as he fishes the coin from his pocket and flips it toward the kid, who catches it easily in the air, “I want my partner back.”
Connor rolls the quarter over his knuckles. “I’ll be back. Besides, Lieutenant, I still owe you some breakfast.” He winks and walks away.
Hank follows him with his gaze, watching the coin soar up into the sky and glint brilliantly in the rising sun.