This chapter is actually not that depressing. Wow. 

Puma's POV

I wonder what kind of stuff Elektra likes. I never really got enough time to spend with her yesterday. Stupid tiredness. Connor was also with me yesterday, probably to calm me from the traumatic moment. I was never really scared. I was... happy. Yeah. That's the right word.

"You're off the case. The FBI is taking over." Captain Fowler's words made me snap back into reality. No case meant no Connor. The android would go back to CyberLife and be deactivated. My heart sped up at that thought.

"What? But we're onto something! We... we just need more time, I'm sure we can-"

"No Puma, you don't get it. This isn't another investigation. It's a fucking civil war! It's out of our hands now... We're talking about national security here." Fowler interrupted me.

"Fuck that!" Dad got up to my defense. "You can't just pull the plug now, not when we're so close."

"You're always saying you can't stand androids! Jesus, Hank, make up your mind! I thought you'd be happy about this!"

"We're about to crack the case, I know we can solve it!" I felt a surge of anger, anxiety and sadness rush into my bloodstream as I pleaded.

"For God's sake, Jeffery, can't you back us up this one time?" Dad joined in.

But he only sighed. "There's nothing I can do. You two are back on homicide and the android returns to CyberLife. Sorry you two, but this is over."

I looked worriedly at Connor, but he seemed to have no effect on the words. I clenched my fists as I walked out, Connor closing the door after me. I slumped at my desk. I would've broken down crying but considering how much I've cried every day there seemed to be no tears left in my system.

Connor sat on Hank's desk, looking pretty frustrated as well.

"We can't just give up like that, I know we could've solved this case!"

"Your case. That's all you think about, Connor? Not me, not Puma?" Dad asked.

Connor looked slightly ashamed. "No. Not all the time." He said.

"So you're going back to CyberLife then?" Dad asked, dropping the question with the next.

Connor sighed. "I have no choice. I'll be deactivated and analyzed to find out why I failed."

"What if we're on the wrong side, Connor?" Dad's question made me lift my head up in hope. "What if we're fighting against people who just want to be free?"

Connor shook his head. "They don't want to be free, lieutenant.They're defective machines that have to be destroyed!" his response made me sink back in my chair again. Connor looked from me to Hank worriedly, something he saw in his program that I couldn't see.

"But maybe we're wrong." Dad kept his ground. "Maybe we're wrong! Maybe these deviants have actually developed a certain kind of consciousness! We'd be destroying a new life form!"

Connor had nothing to say to that.

"When you refused to shoot me at Kamski's place, you put yourself in my shoes. You showed empathy, Connor. Empathy is a human emotion." I gave a smile.

"You're wrong, lieutenant. It was logic that determined my decisions. Nothing more." Connor wasn't giving in. "I know it hasn't always been easy, but I want you two to know I really appreciated working with you both."

His eyes darted to the upper right for a split second. "And that's not just my social relations program talking, I-I really mean that. At least... I think I do."

There was silence for a moment. I was proud for Connor to say something out of his program. And his voice didn't sound formal like it usually does. It sounded like a normal human talking to my dad.

"Well well, here comes Perkins, that motherfucker... Sure don't waste his time at the FBI."

"We can't give up. I can find Jericho. I know the answer is in the evidence we collected. If Perkins takes it, it's all over!" Connor's voice sounded rushed.

"There's no choice..." Dad replied. "You heard Fowler, we're off the case."

"If you distract Perkins long enough, we can find Jericho." I told Dad. "We can find the deviants!"

"We?" He asked.

"Well I'm going too!"

Their answer was a horrified, "No!" and "Absolutely not!"

I glared at them, taking a deep breath. "In case you have forgotten, I'm an adult. I don't need your, or your permission." I pointed to Connor and Dad. "Do you really think I'm going to stand by and watch from the sidelines? If you won't take me with you, I'll find my own way there."

"Puma, that's still-"

"I'll bring Elektra. That good enough?"

"There's really no stopping you, is there?"

"This is a bad idea," Connor started.

"You better keep her safe. If even a piece of her hair is out of place I'll turn you into a pile of scrap metal and throw you into the incinerator myself and watch you burn." Dad jabbed a finger into Connor's chest.

"Of course, lieutenant. I won't let anything happen to her." Connor promised.

Dad pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "Please come back in one piece."

"I will, I have a trained android and the most intellectual cougar by my side." I tried to laugh, giving him a tight squeeze. Dad gently turned us to the direction of the evidence lockers and said.

"Get a move on, I can't distract him forever." He handed me the key to the basement and walked off. We walked off in our own direction, sneaking glances at Dad.

"Perkins! You fucking cocksucker!" Dad threw himself onto the agent and started hitting him. The sudden commotion got the attention of Fowler and everyone else, and Connor and I quickly slipped through to the evidence lockers. Right as Connor reached to open the door, a voice made us stop. The last voice I wanted to hear.

"Hey Connor. Puma. I'm talking to you assholes. Where are you going with that piece of shit. We don't need any plastic pricks around here. Or didn't anybody tell you?" Gavin smirked, coming up to us.

"I'm registering the evidence in my possession, Puma is accompanying me to make sure I do as intended." Connor said calmly. "But don't worry. I'm going to leave... though I'm certainly going to miss our bromance."

I had to hold in a giggle from that, which quickly stopped when Gavin pulled out his gun.

"Son of a bitch!" he got it and aimed the gun at Connor's head. It was in these moments I wondered why Captain Fowler hired someone as trigger-happy as Gavin. None of us made any movement, though I wasn't worried in the first place since I knew he wasn't going to shoot.

Gavin made an imitation of a gunshot sound and chucked before lowering the gun. Connor made a fake grin and I forced an awkward laugh.

"Go on. Get a fucking move on. Prick." Gavin turned and started walking away as he muttered Dad's phrase. "Fucking androids."

We waited for him to leave before rushing down into the evidence locker. Pressing my own key to the security lock downstairs the glass door slid open. Walking inside, Connor pressed the terminal but stopped when he reserved a password.

"I can't access the files, sorry. Dad's head of the investigation so his password should work." I shrugged as Connor looked at the terminal for a second.

"Hank's password..." He sighed. "What would a hard-boiled eccentric police lieutenant choose?"

He stood thinking for a moment before closing his eyes. The password filled in for him and glowed green. There was a "01" on the evidence container.

"Obviously." he grinned with an exasperated sigh. I looked at him. Connor was starting to act more and more human from the trip to Kamski's place.

"What was it?"

"All uppercase, no spaces. FUCKINGPASSWORD."

I let out a laugh as the evidence opened up. There was the blond android from stratford tower, the android from Carlos Oritz' place and another PL600 that I didn't recognize.

"Who's that?" I immediately pointed to the android on the left.

"That's my first case. The deviant that took a child hostage." Connor said in short. We walked over to the same model android.

"One of the deviants that hacked the TV station with Markus... It must have known where the deviants are hiding." Connor stated. "It's missing the biocomponent #3983v."

Walking over to the other android, the android again scanned functional biocomponents and found one that worked by yanking it out from behind the android's ear. Returning to the android that was with Markus, Connor inserted the missing piece, powering the android on. His eyes were a dark blue around the edges and white in the center.

He lost his vision as he shot himself. I realized.

"It's dark... Where... Where am I?" The deviant started.

"I reactivated you so you could help me. I must find Jericho."

"I don't recognize your voice. You're not one of us. I'll never tell you where Jericho is..." The android's response was automatic.

"I know Markus, I'm his friend. Has he ever said anything about me? Do you recognize my voice? I'm here to help you guys." I said in hope we'd find Jericho's location.

"No... sorry I don't recognize your voice." the deviant shook his head.

Such loyalty. I thought, walking over the center of the evidence. I picked up a recording from Connor's memory. It was glitchy around the edges. I'd go crazy having that kind of vision.

"The truth is inside." the recording played of Carlos' deviant.

"The truth is inside. What was he trying to tell us?" I looked over at Connor who was looking at the statuette.

(A/N: The truth is insiiiideee... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°))

"I don't know." Connor shook his head and put the statuette back at its original spot.

"Wait. Hold on. What's the evidence from the Carlos Oritz's android?"

"Just this statuette I think."

I picked up the statue, looking it over. Not knowing what I was doing, I brought it up to my ear and shook it. There was a soft shaking noise coming from it. In horror, I accidentally let it slip from my fingers and fall to the ground, breaking the statuette. I gasped and staggered back, but saw a paper neatly folded inside the now broken statue.

"Fucking genius..." I whispered, picking up the paper and unfolding it. There was a map of Ferndale located on it. "The truth is inside... the truth was inside the statuette!" I handed the paper to Connor.

"Jericho is somewhere in the Ferndale neighborhood." Connor finished my sentence.

"Exactly!" I grinned, cleaver to have found it out.

"So all we need to do is scan their memories and narrow the search to cross reference to Ferndale." Connor said, picking up the 'Jericho' etched onto a piece of rusty metal.

"Jericho. If I could just figure out where this memory was recorded..." Connor said, and began to scan it. He suddenly smiled. "Bingo."

I was about to ask what was so "bingo about looking at a recording, but someone interrupted us.

"I've been dreaming about this since the first second I saw you..." Gavin said. I turned around to see Gavin holding up a gun to Connor's head.

"Don't do it, Gavin." I said, shaking my head. "We know how to stop the deviants!"

"You're off the case." Gavin said. "And now, it's gonna be definitive. I'll make sure of it."

Before I could react Connor jumped onto me and pushed us both under the terminal. There was a gunshot. Sensing the detective coming, I burst out of my hiding spot and wrestled the gun out of Gavin's hands, twisting it and to make him drop it.

"Bitch." he muttered. I suddenly felt pain in my abdomen, and I fell to the ground loosening my grip. Gavin retrieved his dropped weapon and pointed it at me.

"Go on. Do it." I dared him, a half-smile forming on my face. "It's going to make dying a whole lot easier."

"What?" Gavin aimed the gun straight into my forehead. Connor stood up and crept behind Gavin from the back.

"You act like you're interested in me yet you never had it in you to notice I'm severely depressed." I giggled. "Connor now!"

The detective tried to kick Connor in the legs but the android simply blocked him and made him stagger backward.

Honestly can this man even fight? I thought to myself, scrambling up. Only to fall down again, I scooted into hiding again to catch my breath.

Gavin went to punch Connor but the android again trapped his arm and kicked his stomach, successfully making him drop the gun again, and to send him staggering backward. It was clear Connor wasn't making any room for mercy for Gavin, but the detective wasn't giving up either. Every punch Connor got was an even harder one on Gavin. Gavin once again made a run for it, but Connor again trapped him in, making him lean on the terminal before getting the gun from the ground.

"Connor, don't!" I yelled, knowing what he was going to do.

But instead giving Gavin a hard blow to the head with the gun, knocking him unconscious. Connor straightened his tie, blinking a few times before running over to me and crouching in front of me to gently cup my cheek with his hand, scanning me for injuries.

"Are you alright, Puma?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's go." I nodded, instinctively leaning into his hand before realizing it was an awkward thing to do between friends. "Just a little shocked. I didn't expect him to hit me so hard. I guess in the end you did more work than me. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." Connor pulled his hand away and helped me get up.

"Well, if we're going to go to Jericho, you won't get very far with these clothes. Let's stop by my house first." I said, and before leaving I gave Gavin a hard kick in his abdomen as well. It was getting exciting now.

A/N: yaaaay third chapter in one day. Hope y'all like it, stuff's about to get fun (take that however you want, dirty or not) :D 

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