After a long day of doing things that he really didn't want to do, he decided to take a taxi home instead of riding the bus. Though, in hindsight, he should've waited an extra few minutes for a bus to arrive.

He wasn't aware of anything going on in the part of town the cabs would usually go through. He sat back, relaxed, and waited to get home.

A few minutes into the ride, the taxi stopped, but no voice told him to get off. He assumed that he was at a stoplight.

It started moving for a few seconds before, again, abruptly stopping.

"What the-?"

The look on his face was priceless. He finally looked outside, and while he couldn't hear anything but the nice elevator music the taxi provided, he knew that whatever was going on outside was hectic. He saw androids running around in front of a Cyberlife store, setting everything on fire-

His taxi was designed to brake if anything ran in front of it, to prevent any car accidents. When Connor checked to see what made the taxi stop, he saw a bench laying in the middle of the street.

A bench.

He was relieved to see that the taxis were smart enough to realize that the object wouldn't be moving anytime soon. It backed up, prepared to go around, but stopped again.

There was an android in front of it this time, arms out and blocking the taxi. If he weren't terrified, he probably would've laughed at the fact that he looked like he was T-posing.

The taxi tried backing up, but another android stood behind it.

He was trapped.

Two androids approached, both girls and looking like the ones from the Eden club. They both kneeled down, and Connor suddenly realized that they were going to try to push it over.

While he was in it.

ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴏʀ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴀ ʀɪᴅᴇ ɪꜱ ɪɴ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇꜱꜱ

He didn't realize how scary it would be for him in this situation, giving him some memories that he would rather not think about because he had bad experiences with driving in cars. While it tilted, he found himself gripping the seats, breathing quickly.

"No, no, no-"

But it was useless. The taxi was tipped over on its side, and he realized that he would have to get out of there as soon as possible if he wanted to avoid getting hurt even further.

ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴜɴʙᴜᴄᴋʟᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴇᴀᴛʙᴇʟᴛ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴀ ʀɪᴅᴇ ɪꜱ ɪɴ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇꜱꜱ

Fuck.

Fuck

Connor loosened the seatbelt and slipped out of it easily, moving around to balance himself. He knew he hated being tall sometimes, but in this situation, he was easily able to reach the door handle above him.

ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴏʀ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴀ ʀɪᴅᴇ ɪꜱ ɪɴ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇꜱꜱ

"We're not moving, for fuck's sake!" He yelled, as if the taxi would realize its mistake and open the door for him.

He tried rolling the window down, and for a brief moment, he thought he finally had a stable exit. But that proved to be wrong when it only opened an inch.

Still, he supposed that the window option wasn't too crazy.

He looked around the taxi for a second. He didn't have any convenient crowbars lying around, but that didn't mean that he couldn't break the glass with something else. He tried punching it, but he didn't even get a crack out of that.

His eyes trailed down to something that would've been more useful.

The headrest.

It was adjustable, thank God. He took it off the seat, gripped one of the rods, and hit the window as hard as he could.

Nothing.

"Come on."

He hit it again. And again.

Then, just as he was going to give up, the window finally shattered. 

Connor felt the shards fall on him, and even as he shook his head, he knew that some were still stuck to his head.

He'll just have to deal with it later.

He grabbed the edges of the broken window, and pulled himself up and out of the taxi. Immediately, he was hit with how chaotic everyone in the area was being. In the safety of the taxi, he didn't get to hear everyone screaming, cheering... couldn't hear the annoying car alarms coming from the other vehicles that also got tipped over.

Connor had to get out of there.

He pulled himself up an out, but leaned against the car, as if his white long-sleeved button-up shirt would blend in with the black taxi and provide him with some stable cover. Of course, he didn't really expect anyone to really care about him, seeing that they were too busy... having fun?

Christ.

Connor sprinted to a safe end of the street, waiting a few seconds before crossing yet again. He needed to get somewhere safe to hide out.

So he hid down an alley, looking through dumpsters, hoping there'd be an empty one. As soon as he realized that they'd all be full, he decided to use it as a last resort.

Just as he was trying to find a way to reach a fire escape-

Sirens.

Then, gunshots.

His curiosity got the best of him. Assuming that everything got resolved, Connor walked back and poked his head out, seeing that the gunshots did come from the police officers. Only a few androids were laying on the street, but they all had pools of thirium surrounding them, so it was safe to assume that they were the ones that got shot.

He watched from a distance as more came out anyway, disarming the officers once a few were close enough to do so. The officers were forced on to their knees, and he saw one of them draw a gun.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Someone grabbed his shoulder, and forced him to turn around.

It was an android. This time, one he recognized.

"Gavin?"

"Well, if it isn't Lieutenant Anderson. Didn't expect to see you here."

"...truce?"

He turned him around again, grabbing his arm and pulling it as high as could without breaking it. When Connor hissed from the sudden pain, Gavin started walking him towards the other officers. Even as he got close, he couldn't help but point out that the area smelled weird. Like gasoline. Though, he guessed that it shouldn't have been surprising, seeing that there were cars on fire.

"This one's another officer." Gavin informed, "Tried hiding. Found him in that ally over there."

"Thought you could get away. Hm?" He recognized the voice- the android in front of him was the same one that broadcasted the speech that sent Detroit into a panic. Up close, his tics still showed. He was very unpredictable, and Connor knew that he had to choose his words carefully if he didn't want to make the deviant mad.

When Connor didn't respond in time, he scowled, "Thought you could get away, scot-free?"

He finally put the gun up to his head. "Answer me."

"...no?"

He had nothing to say in his defense. He was forced on his knees, just like the ones next to him, and for a split second considered having a dirty joke be his last words.

Last words.

Christ, that was hard to think about.

"How much time do I have before..?" He muttered, hating how quiet his voice came out.

"Not-"

"Leo!"

The android blew air through his nose, loud and showing his frustration. After a few seconds, he forced a smile, and turned to face the one that addressed him.

"Hello, Markus."

Markus.

Markus.

Where has he heard that name before?

"What are you doing?"

"They've slaughtered my people in cold blood. I'm simply returning a favor."

"Just let them go. Violence isn't the answer here."

"You're wrong... humans only listen to violence."

"That's just not true."

"If I let him off now, they'll think I've gone soft!"

"An eye for an eye, and the world goes-"

"Shut up." He pointed the gun at Markus now. Connor tried getting up, to hopefully help him out, but was immediately pushed back down.

"Leo, put the gun down."

"I'm holding all of the cards!" He shouted, and Connor had to flinch, "You can't boss me around anymore! I'm not your slave anymore."

"I never have, and would never treat you like one."

"You told me to spare these men!"

"As I would with anyone else, if they were in that situation."

Flattering, he kept himself from saying out loud, knowing that it really wasn't the time.

"Leo." Gavin snapped, "Make your choice. We have to go, now."

"Please."

Leo ended up pocketing the gun.

"Not. A. Word."

"Of course."

Then, he disappeared, running down the same alley Connor was hiding in only moments earlier. The androids holding him down followed, but with A quick glance at the street, he saw that the others were all running in different directions.

The police officers once kneeling next to him were now scrambling to get to their car.

Markus came up to him.

"Are you all right?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

Markus' expression suddenly changed to something... unreadable.

"...Connor?"

Connor made a similar expression, "You know my name?"

"Yeah. We met that one night at the bar."

He let out a quiet laugh, "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

Markus offered his hand, and Connor took it.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sirens interrupted his response. Markus simply walked away, and Connor decided to follow, stumbling as he tried to follow.

"Hey- hey, you seem familiar."

"We've met already."

"No, no... I swear I've seen you before... somewhere else."

"Does Manfred ring a bell?"

It didn't.

Well, not at first.

Connor was quiet for a few moments, up until he finally realized-

"You're that painter guy!"

"Ding ding ding."

"My roommate used to show me your paintings all the time!" He paused, just for a minute, "What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I was on my way home, and my taxi broke down. I tried running away, but they caught me. Pointed a gun at my head."

Markus seemed surprised.

"So you... didn't shoot the androids?"

"I don't even have my gun on me."

Markus huffed, and Connor noticed that it was cold enough for him to actually see his breath, "I'm actually surprised."

"What do you mean?"

"You're covered in thirium. I knew it couldn't have been from tonight, but I assumed that it meant you weren't afraid to kill a few more androids."

His eyes narrowed, "How can you tell?"

"My blue eye is fake. Came from an android."

There was a pause.

"You thought I killed a bunch of those androids?"

"Yes."

"And yet you still tried to save my life? When you could've just walked away?"

"I wasn't lying, Connor. Violence doesn't solve anything."

"Yeah, try telling Leo that."

He paused for the longest time. Connor was going to respond, probably with another stupid question, but Markus finally beat him to it.

"I can't control Leo anymore. He does what he can to get by."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"Markus- even you know that what he's doing is immoral."

"I know."

"He needs to be stopped."

"...I know." He repeated, hesitantly. "But I can't."

"You- do you know what would've happened if you didn't get involved back there?" He snapped, finally getting him to slow down, "He destroyed public property- and I know everyone won't be ecstatic when they hear about that- but imagine how much worse it would be if he shot those people."

"Leo is a man that can't be reasoned with."

"Then tell me how I'm still alive right now." Markus finally stopped, and Connor narrowly avoided running into him. "You did that."

"I told you I can't."

"But you did!" He argued, "Back there! A man who can't be reasoned with- reasoned with! I bet if you could-"

"Stop. Talking."

He narrowed his eyes.

"You have the chance to save thousand of lives- and you won't take it." He stated bluntly.

"I've already tried. Every time I talk about it, I get shut down."

"And how did you present your argument? What did you say?"

"I said that we should change our approach if he wanted this to escalate in a good way."

"Who did you say it to?"

"Him. And he shut me down. Multiple times."

"Then change your approach!"

"It's not that simple!"

"Don't you dare say that you tried to help if you didn't put in any extra effort." He snapped.

"You couldn't even begin to understand how any of this works. Don't pretend that you do."

He began walking again.

"Markus-"

"You should go home now. You must be traumatized."

"That wasn't the first time someone's pointed a gun at me."

"Honestly? Not surprising."

"Fuck you, man."

But he got no response.