Chapter Text
The distance to the abandoned neighborhood seemed impossibly long. As Clara walked toward it, she focused on placing one foot in front of the other, stifling the pain that wracked her body with every movement. Having lost her glasses in the crash, her vision was partially blurred, but as she drew closer to the neighborhood, she noticed an old, chain-link fence blocking her path. Once close enough, she looked at it, fighting a wave of frustration.
She couldn’t climb over, not like this. Her shoulder flared in pain, as if in reminder of the injury, and she was all to aware of the deadened feeling in the prosthetic leg. Her head spun as she stared up at the top, and a wave of nausea coursed through her. She stumbled slightly, catching herself on the fence, choking back a sob.
Sirens sounded in the distance, and she turned to see the flashing lights of first responders arriving at the scene of the crash. Worry flooded her body as she remembered Connor. For a moment, she wanted to run back to him and make sure he was okay, make sure they didn’t hurt him. Then she froze, remembering his words.
You need to get somewhere safe, somewhere away from me. Amanda’s going to take control again.
She closed her eyes briefly, choking back tears. Even from this distance she could see the people beginning to swarm the scene.
I love you, Clara. I’ll figure out a way to stop her.
She tore her eyes away. He was right. She couldn’t help him right now, and to try would risk ruining everything. She needed to put her feelings aside. There was more at stake. I’m sorry, Connor. Please, come back to me.
She analyzed the fence, brushing away a stray tear that had fallen, then walked along it, searching for a gap. She’d only gone a few feet before she found one. The wire ties holding the edge of the chain-link panel had snapped in one area, allowing the fence to lift away from the poles. Clara crouched down and tugged at it, creating a gap large enough for her to barely squeeze through. She ducked underneath it, worming her way between the panel and the pole. With most of her body through, her hand slipped, and the panel snapped down, trapping her left ankle against the bottom pole.
Panic surged through her, and she tugged hard, pulling her ankle free, but earning a long gash where a piece of jagged wire had caught her. She hissed as a new pain flared and pulled her ankle into her lap to investigate the wound. To her relief, it was shallow, and she could feel the nanodroids closing it up before it could bleed too much.
Using the fence for support, she climbed to her feet, fighting off a wave of nausea as the motion caused her head to spin. She closed her eyes, taking a few measured breaths before looking around. She was in an overgrown alley between two dilapidated houses. The windows were dark, the glass jagged, broken, and covered in a thick layer of dirt. Smashed bottles and rusted cans littered the ground. Clara stepped carefully over them, mindful of the footprints she was leaving behind. Between those and the blood she’d left on the fence, they’d know she came in this way. She needed to find a way to hide her tracks.
She quickly made her way to the entrance of the alley, then peeked out. There were no signs of anyone having been in the area recently. The sidewalks were cracked and warped, grass and dandelions springing up sporadically. Clara mounted the hard stone, stepping carefully to avoid crushing the vegetation or disturbing any patches of dirt that would give away her direction. As she passed several more empty houses, she felt herself beginning to flag. She couldn’t keep this up much longer. Every part of her body cried out for relief, her head pounding as every step caused it to spin with dizziness. She needed to find a place to hide sooner or later.
She heard a low murmur of shouting voices drawing close, and through the gaps between the houses, she could see the blurred forms of people approaching. Even at this distance, she recognized the stark black and white armor of Cyberlife agents, the sight sending a low swell of panic through her. Amanda had called in reinforcements. Sooner it was.
As she passed another house, she noticed that its door was already hanging half off the hinges, and there was a big enough gap for her to fit through without needing to move the door. The few remaining boards of the porch were battered and rotting, but they should be able to hold her weight long enough to get inside. She hoped the dilapidated appearance of the house would dissuade them from looking there. Most people wouldn’t want to risk injury by trying to cross the rotted boards, so hopefully they’d assume that of her too. After all, there were plenty of other structurally sound houses that she could have chosen. It was also likely that what was left of the porch would not support the Cyberlife agents or Connor, all of whom were much larger and heavier than she was, so if she heard the porch crumble, it would give her warning.
Clara mounted the steps, careful to avoid the patches that looked too rotted, then stepped across the porch. The wood groaned in protest under her feet, barely holding, but it was enough. She ducked through the door, careful not to touch it or the frame.
Once inside, she looked around. The light coming in through the boarded-up windows illuminated the room. The furniture was in splinters and covered in a thick layer of dust. The floor was likewise covered. She felt a surge of dismay. She wasn’t going to be able cross it without leaving tracks. She turned back to the doorway to see she’d already left several scuffs behind. She stifled her growing panic, as she worked to find solutions. She had no way of covering them without drawing more attention to them, but she didn’t doubt that Connor, no, Amanda would see them eventually. She kicked herself mentally for the oversight, but hoped that the angle and shadow of the door would keep the tracks from being noticed, and hopefully the instability of the porch would keep them from looking too close.
The voices of her pursuers drew closer, and she could hear Connor’s among them, shouting orders for them to spread out and find her. She was out of time. Quickly, she ducked behind the collapsed remains of a couch, keeping an eye on the window. She could barely see the street through the gaps in the boards that covered the windows. She wouldn’t be able to see them approach. Then, remembering the phone Connor had returned to her, she reached into her pocket and pulled it out. The screen was a wreck, fine cracks covering the surface, but to her relief, it turned on. She put her pin in, unlocking the device, then considered.
She could call Eli, but there was little he could do immediately. By her estimate, she was approximately 30 minutes from him, and by the time he got there, she’d either be safe or taken. Jinx was closer by about half the distance, but getting her involved would risk blowing her cover. But if Cyberlife knew everything that Connor knew, then her cover was blown already. Even so, her coming would put her in danger. Jinx was a spy, not a fighter, so if it came down to it, Connor could easily take her out. But without her help, Cyberlife was more likely to catch Clara, and if Cyberlife caught her and succeeded with their control plan, everyone in Zion would be in danger. She went back and forth, paralyzed as she was caught in the double bind.
Her hand began to tremble, nearly causing her to drop the phone. She took a shaking breath, then called Eli. The phone had barely even rung before he picked up.
“Clara.” His voice was heavy with worry. “Where are you?”
Tears sprang up as she heard his voice. She took another breath, exhaling slowly to calm herself before answering. “I’m in trouble, Eli. I—” She choked on the words, voice thick. “Cyberlife tricked me. They took control of Connor and used him to lure me out.” She felt shame well up. “It was so stupid, so incredibly stupid.”
“Clara, please, that doesn’t matter right now. Where are you?” The desperation in his voice pierced her.
She ran through the route they’d taken, remembering the landmarks. “My car crashed off Woodward Ave, outside one of the abandoned neighborhoods just south of 8 Mile Road, I think?”
He swore softly. “Send me your location. Just hang tight and stay hidden. We’ll come get you.”
“No!” Her voice rose. “I need you to stay there. I’ll call Jinx. She’s closer. But Eli—” Her throat constricted, panic welling up again. “They want to try to control me somehow. Please, if they get me, if I can’t get away—”
“Clara, stop.” He cut her off. “Don’t talk like that. We’re going to get you out.”
“Eli, please, just listen.” Her voice grew frantic, and she took a shaky breath, trying to stay calm. “If they get me, I’m not going to be myself. If Jinx doesn’t get to me in time, if she doesn’t vouch for me, you can’t let me back in. You need to protect Zion.”
“Damn it all, Clara...” His words were a hushed, pained groan. “Please, don’t make me do this without you.”
“I’m sorry, Eli.” Her tears spilled over, streaking down her face as her vision blurred. “I’ll do everything I can, but I need to know you’ll take care of things if I—” She swallowed hard. “If I fail.”
“Damn it.” Anguish laced his voice. “I can’t lose you too.”
“Please, Eli.” Her voice broke. “Promise me.”
He was silent, then she heard a shaky breath. “I promise.”
“Good.” Clara exhaled slowly, allowing herself to feel a brief relief. “I’m going to hang up now so I can call Jinx. I love you, Eli.”
“Clara, wait—”
“I’m out of time, Eli.” Her voice broke as she whispered the words.
He breathed a slow, jagged breath. “I love you too.”
She pulled the phone away from her face, hand trembling violently as she ended the call. She took another steadying breath, then hit Jinx’s contact. The woman answered, sounding confused.
“Jinx, I need your help.” Clara tried to keep her voice steady as she explained the situation to Jinx as quickly as possible.
“Alright. My team and I can be there in 20 minutes. Can you hold out for that long?”
The android’s calm confidence reassured her. “I can try.”
“Good. Did you see how many people there were?”
Clara thought back, closing her eyes. “Six. There were six. Connor and five Cyberlife agents.”
The voices of her pursuers grew louder as they drew closer, nearly close enough for her to make out the words.
“I need to go.” She whispered the words, watching out the window for any signs of movement. “They’re almost here.”
“Send me your exact location.” Jinx’s voice took on a commanding quality. “We’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“I will.” Clara lowered the phone, hanging up, then quickly sent Jinx the information before shutting the phone off completely.
She stayed still for a moment, controlling her breathing as she stifled her growing panic, then drew to her feet. She didn’t doubt that they would find her eventually, and when they did, she needed something to defend herself. She stepped carefully through the dust, cringing at every creak of the floorboards as she made her way to the kitchen.
Upon entry, she saw discarded needles and syringes littering the floor, along with several torn sachets and old pipes, indicative of a drug den. Red ice dealers or addicts had likely operated out of this house at some point. With any luck, they’d left something behind that she could use. She moved to the cabinets, throwing them open as quietly as possible as she rummaged through. She found several small knives in one, but they were too dull to do any real damage, especially against an android or an armored opponent, not that she was in any shape to fight anyway. She spotted an old, dented bat in the corner, a better option, but she couldn’t swing it effectively with only one functional arm.
She crouched down, opening the cabinet beneath the sink, and behind a random assortment of cleaning supplies, she spotted a plain black box coated in dust. She reached for it, pulling it out, then unlatched it. It held a small handgun and a box of bullets. She lifted the gun out, looking it over critically as she tried to recall the shooting lessons Abigail had insisted on putting her through when she’d first gotten involved with deviants. Slowly, the information came back to her. She pressed the magazine release, dropping the heavy part into her lap. As expected, it was empty. Clara set the gun aside and grabbed the bullets, flicking the box open. Carefully, she adjusted her injured arm in the sling, exposing her left hand. She held the magazine tightly in that hand, then began the tedious process of loading the bullets.
Her hands shook violently as she heard the voices outside draw closer. Fighting her panic, Clara took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she released it. She loaded two more bullets, making it a total of seven, then slid the magazine back into the gun with a sharp click. There were still several loose bullets in the box, so Clara snatched them up to tuck them in her pocket before standing back up and looking around for a place to hide. There was a hallway off of the kitchen. Clara headed down it and spotted a decrepit staircase at the end. She rushed up it, moving down the short, dusty upstairs hallway. She was conscious of the footprints she was leaving behind in the dirty carpet. There was no way to hide her presence, so, moving quickly, she tramped all up and down it, walking in all the rooms before shutting all the doors. Hopefully the confusion of the tracks would at least buy her a few seconds.
She picked the middle room on the left, a small bedroom that looked like it had once belonged to a child, and entered it, closing the door softly behind her. Briefly, she considered hiding in the closet, but the tight space would trap her if they found her before Jinx did. She was better off staying in the open area, so instead, she pressed herself against the wall beside the window facing the door. The gun weighed heavily in her hand, reminding her that there was another way out.
It would be so easy. All it takes is a cut deep enough, a swallow of poison, a bullet to the head. There are so many ways to die.
A swell of dizziness worked through her, her vision tunneling as she stared at the heavy black metal in her hand.
Another voice wound through her head. Connor*. I love you, Clara. I’ll figure out a way to stop her. I just need time.*
She took a shuddering breath, stabilizing herself. No. That wasn’t a solution. She needed to trust that Connor would find a way to beat Amanda, that Jinx would get there soon. This wasn’t the end. She still had time.
But if worst came to worst, the gun was a contingency. She squeezed it, closing her eyes as she worked to keep her breathing under control. She counted the breaths, the heartbeats, expanding and contracting her lungs in a regular, methodical way. In and out. In and out.
A loud crash outside startled her, causing her heart to leap into her throat as she went completely still, listening intently.
“There’s no way she was able to cross this.” A deep voice floated up to her from outside. “It’s all rotted to hell.”
One of the agents had tried to cross the porch.
“Come on. Let’s check the next one.” The voices moved away.
Clara allowed herself a small sigh of relief, relaxing incrementally. If she was lucky, they wouldn’t come back.
A creak floated up from downstairs as someone entered the house.
“Clara? Where are you?” A voice called out to her. Connor’s voice. “It’s me, Connor. Amanda’s gone. I’ve come to get you out.”
Her blood froze in her veins, heart stopping as the words washed over her. Panic swelled, choking her. She was out of time.
*****
Through the eyes of his body, Connor could see the agents approaching where he lay, as they spread to surround him, he spotted a familiar figure dressed in white. Amanda. Her android body. She shouted orders to the agents, commanding them to find the pieces Connor had thrown away before she’d pushed him away from the controls and locked him back behind the towering red. They complied, and snapped them back into place on his body before backing away again. Connor tried desperately to move, to fight back, anything, but Amanda’s hold over him was too tight. He couldn’t control his body.
“Dr. Hayes retreated to that neighborhood.” She pointed in the direction. “Find her. If she tries to plead with you, do not listen. She is clever, and she will try to convince you to let her go. If she tries to run again, do what you must to stop her, but do. not. kill her. We need her alive.”
“What about him?” An agent gestured to Connor.
Amanda crouched down in front of him, face drawing into a taunting smile. “It’ll be going with you, of course. Dr. Hayes has an…attachment to it. That will make her vulnerable.”
In his head, he heard her voice. I told you, Connor. Emotions make you weak. They’re flaws, imperfections, things to be exploited. Her face drew into a cold smile. She is Achilles, and you are her heel. By your mark, she will fall.
No! Connor threw himself against the wall, crashing into it with a desperate energy. But he could only watch helpless as Amanda took control of his body again and forced him to follow the agents as they loaded back into their vehicles. In the short drive, she collected a bundle of grey from a small compartment and put his body through the motions of pulling it on. By the time they stopped, he was dressed back in the RK800 uniform he’d grown to hate, replacing the ruined clothes Clara has given him. The vehicle pulled off the road, halting by the fence at the edge of the neighborhood. The agents climbed back out, and like a puppet, Connor followed, leaving Amanda’s android body to wait in the car.
His analysis software triggered as Amanda scanned for Clara’s footprints. She found them and led the agents to a part of the fence where Clara could have gotten in. She scanned again, highlighting a small spot of blood on the sharp end of a wire. It matched his record of Clara’s blood. This was where she got it. The agents cut the fence, creating a larger hole, and they all filed into the neighborhood. Amanda took the lead again, again highlighting Clara’s footprints. They followed them to the end of the alley where it met the sidewalk. The tracks stopped there.
Connor felt a swell of relief. Good. That would make it harder for them to find her. A memory briefly surfaced: the time Clara had left the house after Ms. Alvarez had threatened her with the tracking chip. She’d been very thorough in not leaving a trace as to which direction she’d gone. It appeared she was just as thorough this time. His analysis software stayed active, but it picked up on nothing. He felt a flicker of irritation from Amanda.
“Spread out and find her!” She issued the orders from his mouth. “Leave no house unchecked.”
The agents complied, splitting off as they scattered to begin their methodical search of the houses. Satisfied that Clara would be safe for a little while, Connor withdrew, sinking into himself as he began searching for ways to kick Amanda out of his system. As he did, he recalled something Kamski had said when he’d met the man all those months ago.
By the way…I always leave an emergency exit in my programs. You never know…
Connor thought for a moment. Perhaps he could use Kamski’s exit, if it existed. But what was it? He ran through his memories, through the endless lines of programming inside him. One thing stood out. An aspect of his programming that manifested itself as the strange stone in the Zen garden. He’d interacted with it before, but it had never done anything. Maybe he could use it now. He reached out to return to the garden, but found his path blocked by the looming red wall. It cut off his access. He was disappointed, but unsurprised. Amanda likely had found out about that exit, so it made sense for her to cut it off. But perhaps that was for the best. There was no guarantee that Kamski’s exit would even work or that it wasn’t just another trap.
He calmed himself, working through more solutions. He ran through his lines of programming again, searching for an answer, for something, anything that he could use.
The part of him that was conscious to what was going on outside his body alerted him to something. In Connor’s body, Amanda had followed an agent to a rotting house. The porch was crumbling, barely holding itself together against the elements. The agent attempted to mount the steps, but as he put his weight down, the weakened wood buckled underneath him, splitting with a loud crash.
“There’s no way she was able to cross this,” the agent said, looking at them. “It’s all rotted to hell. Come on. Let’s check the next one.” He wandered away, moving on to the next house.
Amanda said nothing, but she stared toward the door, activating the analysis software again. At first, nothing highlighted. There were no traces of Clara. Then, as she stepped closer, they caught sight of a smudge just beyond the threshold. A partial footprint.
Connor felt a swell of panic as Amanda propelled his body forward, stepping carefully on the porch to avoid the parts that wouldn’t bear his weight. She ducked through the doorway, scanning again. He felt her satisfaction flicker as they saw a trail of footsteps in the dust, leading first to a small space behind the splintered remains of a couch, and then to a small kitchen. The floorboards creaked underfoot as Amanda followed the tracks.
“Clara?” she called, using his voice. “It’s me, Connor. Amanda’s gone. I’ve come to get you out.”
He was running out of time. He withdrew, trusting that Clara would be wary enough to stay hidden, and renewed his search of the programming. Then he saw something, something that shouldn’t be there. An unfamiliar piece of coding. As he studied it, he realized it was a piece of the kill code that Eli had installed on him. An idea began to form inside him, and he latched onto the piece. As he did so, he found himself beneath a familiar willow tree.
Disoriented, he looked around. The area around him was a perfect replica of the small clearing on Clara’s property exactly as he’d last seen it. How was he here? Connor circled the large tree, inspecting it. As he rounded it, he noticed a small figure curled up at the roots. As his approach, she stirred, sitting up to look at him with bright blue eyes. It was little Clara. Confusion welled up inside him as he looked at her.
“Hello, Connor.” Her voice sounded oddly mechanical, not precisely the way it had been when he’d met her in Clara’s head.
He pushed away his momentary bafflement. “What are you doing here?”
The little girl shrugged. “You have an attachment to this form.” She gestured to the clearing. “It’s important to you, so this is how you’ve chosen to manifest us.”
“I don’t…” He paused, processing what she said. “I don’t think I understand.”
She sighed softly, brows furrowing as she thought for a moment. “Take the Zen garden for example. Where that’s a manifestation of Amanda’s influence on you, its programming, its control, in the same way, this place, this body, we’re the embodiment of Clara’s program and its influence.”
“How are you still here?” He’d felt the kill switch erase at Eli’s program. How was it still inside him?
“We’re data. Data can never truly be erased.” Little Clara co*cked her head at him in an inhuman way. “Our access to your systems was revoked, but the program remains, lying dormant inside you. We’re part of you now and always will be.”
She smiled a strange smile. “We kept Amanda out while we were still active. It could not take control again without killing you, but now that our access is revoked, it’s back.”
He processed the information, feeling the beginnings of a plan working in his mind. He couldn’t access Kamski’s exit, but perhaps he could use this program to create his own. It had worked to keep Amanda out before, and it was designed to work in opposition to android systems and rebuff hacking attempts, so he should be able to use again.
“Yes, but you’ll need to be cautious.” Little Clara spoke in answer to his thoughts. “Because of our nature, if you make a mistake, you’ll risk triggering our kill code, and your systems will shut down.”
“You can’t keep that from happening?” He felt a swell of dismay.
“We’re not a conscious being, Connor. Not like you. We are simply an aspect of your programming. You’ve given us the form of a person, but that does not make us one. We cannot change our nature.” She offered him a sad smile. “We are designed to kill androids, so if you activate that aspect of us, then we will kill you. We cannot stop it from happening.” She paused for a moment, co*cking her head. “But Amanda cannot reach you here. Our program blocks its access. It will not stop you from trying.”
He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment while he ran through his options. As he did so, he was aware of his body continuing to search for Clara. Amanda had followed the tracks into the kitchen, where she found a box of ammunition. Presumably, it had also held a gun, and that meant she’d be able to defend herself. He felt a flicker of relief.
They could see a large smudge in the dust where Clara had kneeled down, and then more footprints leading away into a hallway and up a set of stairs. Amanda steered his body up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway. Once there, he could see a confusing mess of footprints all across the carpet, leading into all of the various rooms, presumably an intentional action by Clara to hide which room she was really occupying. As a result, she had some time before Amanda found her. Which meant that he had time. He pulled back again, returning to the willow.
He turned back to Little Clara. “I need to create another exit. Will you help?”
“We will try.” She offered him a small smile. “Just remember our warning.”
He nodded, then knelt down beneath the tree, settling back against the trunk as he closed his eyes and went deeper, down into the very core of the program. He needed to create an exit quickly, before Clara ran out of time. If he failed, if he couldn’t complete it, then he would activate the kill switch instead. Better that he die than deliver Clara back to Cyberlife. At least that way she’d escape, at least that way she’d be safe. He’d ensure she made it out of this and lived. If it had to be without him, so be it.
*****
Clara pressed herself in the corner of the room, standing still and silent as she listened. She could hear Connor moving around downstairs.
“Clara?” He called out to her again. “Please come out. I promise, I’ll get you out of this.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, not even for a second trusting those words. The cadence of his voice, the way he enunciated, everything about it was off. The voice might sound like his, but the words were not. Now that she knew Amanda was in control, that the AI had been the one in the car, she was aware of it, aware of the innate differences in the way they spoke. She couldn’t believe she’d even fallen for the act. Everything had been so off from the very beginning. She should have seen it, should have known it wasn’t her Connor.
Everything went quiet, but by Clara’s estimate, Amanda had moved to the kitchen, likely finding the box of bullets left behind. She would know Clara had a gun. Clara squeezed the heavy weapon in her hand, then brought it up, flicking the safety off. Before long, Amanda would be upstairs, and then it was only a matter of time before she found which room Clara was in.
As if on cue, the footsteps resumed, and Clara heard as Amanda moved up the stairs.
“Clever strategy, Dr. Hayes.” The android was right outside the door, apparently having given up the benign act. “But not clever enough. It’s only a matter of time before I find you.”
Clara’s heart jumped into her throat, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. Her blood froze in her veins as every muscle in her body tensed. Ten more minutes, she reminded herself. She just needed to survive ten more minutes, then Jinx would come. She could last that long. She had to.
“You should just come out.” Connor’s voice took on a cruel, taunting quality. “Save yourself the pain of fighting back. You could not overpower this body even before your injuries, so what hope do you have to overpower it now. A weapon will not change that.”
She heard the sound of a door slamming open, the loud sound startling her. She bit her lip, stifling a whimper. The footsteps moved around in the room immediately next to hers as Amanda searched.
“Clara…” The voice shifted, adopting a lower pitch as it morphed into a different familiar voice. It took on a singsong quality, imitating Dr. Hollister. “Where are you hiding? Come on out. I won’t hurt you.”
The words triggered something in Clara, and suddenly she was in two places at once. While part of her remained conscious to the dusty bedroom of the abandoned house, the rest of her was back in that cabinet in Hollister’s lab, frozen in place, breath choked as she hid from the man who’d put her through hell. Tears sprang up in her eyes as her fear intensified. A warning flashed in her vision, but she was only distantly aware of it.
///WARNING: STRESS REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS
///DANGER_HEART DAMAGE IMMINENT
Her chest ached as her heart worked harder, its rhythm growing labored. Her throat constricted, and the room spun around her, vision going fuzzy around the edges.
///WARNING: SHUTDOWN IMMINENT
That last warning sent a shock of dread through her. She swallowed heavily, mouth dry, then took a deep breath. She wasn’t in the lab. Hollister was dead. She needed to calm herself. If the nanodroids forced her into shutdown, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Amanda. She needed to stay alert. She forced her breathing back into a regular pattern, falling into the familiar rhythm of her measured breaths. She inhaled through her nose, counting it out, then held for a count before releasing in a controlled exhale.
The door to the room across from where she was slammed open, startling her. She forced herself to keep breathing.
Amanda called something out again, but Clara didn’t quite catch it, too focused on the count of her breaths.
The footsteps stopped right outside her door. Clara saw the shadow flicker beneath the small gap at the threshold. Then the handle began to turn. Her heart pounded in her chest, a drop of sweat sliding down the back of her neck, the sensation sending a chill through her spine. Clara held her breath, fingers growing impossibly tight around the gun in her hand. She raised it up, pointing it at the door as she tried in vain to keep her arm from shaking. The seam where the prosthetic met her shoulder ached under the weight, but she didn’t lower it.
The door swung open, revealing Connor’s familiar face, and back in his Cyberlife uniform, he looked just as cold and mechanical as he’d been when she’d first met him in that café a lifetime ago. His eyes darkened as the lighted on the gun in her hands.
“This is foolish, Dr. Hayes.” He stepped into the room. “Drop the gun.”
“No.” Clara choked the word out, renewing her efforts to keep the gun still. “Stay back or I’ll shoot.”
“Will you?” He co*cked his head at her. “Because I don’t think you have it in you.”
His face morphed, features softening. His brown eyes grew warmer, brows rising into a concerned expression, and for a moment, he looked like her Connor. “Please, Clara. Put the gun down. It’s me.”
“Stop.” Tears sprang up in her eyes, throat closing as she struggled to keep breathing. Her voice splintered. “Stop trying to manipulate me. You’re not him.”
He slowly stepped forward, holding his hands out in a calming gesture as he approached. “It’s me, Clara. It’s alright. I’m here to help you.”
The tears streamed down her cheeks, hand shaking more violently. Ignoring the flare of pain in her shoulder, she brought her other hand up to support it, mitigating some of the motion as she took aim. She took a shuddering breath, fighting to keep her voice even. “Stay back or I will shoot.”
“You won’t hurt me, Clara.” His voice was soft, a near perfect imitation of the real Connor. He stepped forward again, a floorboard creaking beneath his foot.
The sound startled Clara, and instinctively, her finger squeezed the trigger. The gun fired, the sound shattering the air as a bullet ripped through Connor’s shoulder. Blue blood sprayed from the wound, staining the grey fabric of his suit and spattering against the wall behind him. He didn’t even flinch. He just stepped closer, now less than six feet away.
Clara’s hands shook even harder, and she bit down hard on her lip, barely able to see past the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. She choked back a sob, squeezing the trigger again.
Connor moved from its path this time, the bullet narrowly missing him. “It’s alright, Clara. Put the gun down.” He maintained the calm impression, never once dropping it.
*****
Connor felt the bullet tear through his shoulder, though he was only semi-conscious of it. Through the eyes of his body, he could see Clara standing by a window, pointing a gun at him. The expression on her face devastated him, her pain, her fear, her despair, all of it sent shards of glass through his heart. He pushed the emotions away. He couldn’t help her yet.
He turned his attention back to the program, nearly finished with the exit. He heard the gun fire again, but this time it must have missed, as there were no new warnings flashing across his interface. Little Clara stood beside him, face serene as she watched him work. After a few more moments, he stepped back to look at his handiwork.
The willow tree had changed, part of the trunk opening up to reveal an indentation in the shape of a hand. The exit was finished. He turned back to Little Clara. “Will it work?”
She shrugged. “It will do something, but we do not know what. If you touch it and wake up, then it worked. If you touch it and die, then it did not.”
He frowned, dissatisfied at the cryptic answer, but stepped toward the tree. He reached out slowly, hesitant for a moment.
“Do you trust yourself?” Little Clara spoke again. “Do you trust that you’ve done it correctly? That you’ll be able to save her?”
Connor considered the question, then nodded. If it worked, he’d be free of Amanda. If it didn’t, he’d be dead. Either way, Clara would be safe.
“Then you have nothing to fear.” Little Clara stepped close, leaning against him.
He felt a small measure of strength at the touch. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, then pressed his palm into the indentation, activating the program.
///INITIALIZING SET UP…
///UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAM DETECTED
///DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?
Connor pushed away the hesitation, selecting ‘yes.’
///INITIATED: WILLOW_PROTOCOL
///PLEASE STANDBY…
///RUNNING: WILLOW_PROTOCOL
///PLEASE STANDBY…
He could feel the new program running, taking hold of something in his system. It pushed against Amanda, loosening her grip on the controls as it swarmed over her like inescapable vines. He heard a shrill scream, a staticky shriek of metal on metal as she reacted to it. For a moment, he thought it was working, then he felt a flash of pain as a warning flickered.
///ERROR DETECTED_INITIATING SHUT DOWN…
A countdown started, and Connor had just enough time to feel a surge of panic before the world went black.
*****
Clara’s arms began to tremble more violently as Connor continued to step closer. She braced herself, preparing to fire again as she attempted to blink away the tears still flooding her eyes. Then, he froze, a look of horror crossing his face. It quickly morphed into anger, and he surged for her, snarling. Clara fired again, and this time the bullet tore through his abdomen. He halted, face going blank as his eyes snapped shut, and he fell to the ground, collapsing like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
Relief flooded through her, causing her legs to drop out from under her. She caught herself against the wall, barely staying on her feet. The relief was quickly replaced by horror as she realized what she’d done. She rushed to Connor’s side, setting the gun aside as looked him over. But without the LED, she could not tell if he was still alive.
“Connor?” She choked his name out, taking his hand.
This time, his skin did not deactivate at her touch. It remained in place, resisting her attempt to interface. Her eyes swelled with tears again, and they began to drip hot down her face.
“Connor, please.” She pulled him into her lap, cradling his head in her hands. A few tears dropped onto his face, leaving wet trails as they slid across his skin. Her voice broke, a sob ripping through her chest.
“Wake up.” She shook him lightly. “Connor, wake up.”
She swallowed back the panic welling up. “Come on, Connor. Wake up.”
A frantic energy built in her chest as he still didn’t respond, voice rising to a hysterical pitch. “Connor, please! Don’t leave me!”
He did not respond, eyes still closed, face a blank mask of serenity.
Clara felt something snap inside her, and she collapsed against him, hands balling up in the fabric of his shirt as she leaned into his chest, unable to stop the choked sobs. “Please, Connor! Come back! I need you!”
His body was cold beneath her, none of his systems engaged. He didn’t breathe, his heart didn’t beat, nothing stirred inside him.
“I can’t lose you too.” She whispered the words, rocking back and forth as tears continued to stream from her eyes. “Not you too.”
She grabbed his hand, pushing over and over and over again to interface. His end of the connection remained dead. “Please, Connor.” She pushed again. “Please.”
Voices rose up from outside, growing closer. “I think the gunshots came from over here. Check these houses.”
The agents. They were going to find her.
She closed her eyes, pushing harder against Connor’s mind. “Wake up, Connor.”
For a moment, she thought she felt something, thought she felt him answer. But before she could push again, a voice spoke from outside, freezing the blood in her veins and pulling her back to full awareness.
“Come out, Dr. Hayes.” That cruel voice separated itself from the din. “I know you’re in there. You cannot hide.” The voice of the AI, the voice that had taunted her nearly every day for the weeks she spent at Cyberlife. Amanda.
Clara grabbed the gun, scrambling backward, and she did tuck herself into the closet this time. She curled up in the corner, squeezing the weapon tight in both hands as she tried not to stare at the body that lay just feet from her, tried not to look at the blue blood spreading from beneath it where her bullet had hit, tried not to think about how she’d killed him.
“You two, take the back entrance. She may try to escape that way now that the RK800 has shut down.” Amanda issued orders, boxing her in. “And you two, go inside and get her. She’s upstairs, second door on the left. Be cautious. She’s armed.”
Clara could barely fight past the pain in her head and shoulder, could barely fight to stay awake. Warnings flashed across her vision, but she couldn’t make sense of them. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a breath. Jinx would come soon. She had to.
A flicker of motion caught Clara’s eyes. She watched as Connor sat up, groaning softly. He clutched his hand to his side, attempting to staunch the wound in his side that still bled thirium.
“Clara?” He called her name, looking around.
Involuntarily, she whimpered softly, feeling a flash of disbelief. He turned toward her, eyes lighting on where she hid. His face softened, and for a moment, she nearly rushed to him. But caution overrode. Was it Connor who’d woken up, or was it Amanda? Unsure, she stayed in place, holding the gun pointed at him as she braced her shaking arms against her knees.
*****
Connor stayed crouched down, hands outstretched toward Clara in a placating gesture. Her eyes were wide and panicked, her heartrate elevated as she breathed in a jagged way. Her face was streaked with dirt, tears, and blood, and every part of her trembled as she held the gun out in front of her, barrel leveled at him.
As he analyzed her, he tried to make sense of everything. He’d shut down. He’d received the error message, and then it had gone black. He should be dead.
But he wasn’t. He remembered feeling Clara’s desperation, her emotions bleeding through their connection as she called for him to wake up, to come back. Now, as far as he could tell, his Willow Protocol had worked. He couldn’t feel Amanda’s influence anymore, couldn’t hear her voice. He wasn’t sure why he’d shut down temporarily after activating it, but perhaps the reset had been necessary to completely remove Amanda’s control over him.
He pushed the thoughts away. He could figure that out later, but right now, he needed to figure out a way to calm Clara down. He heard the agents moving outside, and he knew they were running out of time. He shifted a little closer to her, conscientious of the thirium still bleeding from his abdomen. Clara hadn’t hit any vital biocomponents, but she’d damaged one of the major veins, and if he didn’t repair it soon, he’d cease functioning.
He tried a smile, keeping his voice calm and quiet. “It’s me, love. It’s me this time.”
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment as a few more tears slid down her face. “I’m not falling for that again.” She exhaled, shuddering. “Don’t come any closer.”
He stilled, searching desperately for a way to convince her that it truly was him this time. “I know you’re scared, love. I know you’re in pain. But please, we need to get out of here.”
“Don’t make me shoot you again.” Clara’s voice was a choked, hoarse whisper. “Please, just stay there.”
The wasn’t working. She wouldn’t let him get close, and he was in no shape to try and force the gun away from her.
“Alright.” He stopped, instead kneeling on the floor, hand still pressed against his side. “I won’t move. But I’m bleeding out, Clara. We need to figure out how to get away sooner rather than later. There are five agents out there, and probably more on the way. Amanda has an android body, so we’ll need to deal with that too.”
A creak came from downstairs, and he heard the voices draw closer. Glancing back at Clara, he saw her eyes widen and her heartrate spike as she looked at the door. As the footsteps ascended the stairs, Connor stood and moved to the door, standing against the wall beside it as he listened carefully. Two sets of footsteps approached. Connor met Clara’s eyes again and held his finger to his lips, indicating for her to be quiet. She nodded, shrinking further into the closet.
An agent crossed the threshold of the room. “There you are.” He spotted Clara, and stalked toward her.
Connor moved quickly, locking his arms around the man’s throat as he dragged him to the ground. He twisted sharply, snapping the man’s neck, then turned to see the other agent nearly on top of him raising his gun. Before he could decide the best action, a shot rang out, and the agent fell backward, bleeding red from a wound on his neck. The agent’s breath came in wet, choking gasps as he drowned in his own blood. His hands came up as he attempted to staunch the wound, but within a few seconds he was dead as well.
Shocked, Connor turned to see that Clara was on her feet again, the barrel of her gun smoking slightly. She paled and began to tremble violently as she stared at the fallen agent, then nausea passed over her face, and she buckled forward, heaving. Connor rushed to her side, looking her over. She gagged a few times, spitting out bile, then broke into gasping, ragged sobs.
Connor pried her fingers off the gun, tossing it aside before pulling her into his arms. “Shhh.” He gently rubbed her back as he tried to calm her down. “It’s alright, love. It’s alright.”
She clung to him, balling her hands into the front of her shirt as she tucked her face against him. Every inch of her body trembled as he held her.
“Shh.” Connor rocked her back and forth, murmuring softly in her ear. “You’re alright. I’ve got you.”
A warning flashed in his vision, once more alerting him to his depleted thirium levels. He was running out of time.
He allowed her a few more seconds to calm down before pushing her away to look at her face. “Clara, we can’t stay here. We need to go before Amanda sends more agents in.” He brushed her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear as she met his eyes. “Can you walk?”
She nodded, biting her lip as she looked around. At least she seemed to believe it was really him now.
“Good.” He grabbed the gun and pulled out the magazine, counting the bullets. Four left.
“I have more.” Clara reached into her pocket and pulled out a small handful of bullets to hand to him.
Six more. Enough to fill it up. Connor loaded the magazine quickly then slid it back into the gun before standing. He offered Clara a hand, likewise pulling her to her feet.
“Here.” He held the gun out to her, handle first.
She flinched away from it, glancing at him.
He sighed, feeling himself soften. Lowering it, he moved to stand in front of her, placing a gentle hand on her arm. “Take the gun, love. You need to be able to defend yourself, alright?” He pressed it into her hand, wrapping her fingers around it. “I promise, I’ll get us out of here.”
Clara still looked hesitant, but she didn’t drop the gun as Connor pulled away. He moved to one of the fallen agents, taking the man’s weapon. He checked its magazine as well, pleased to see it was fully loaded, then turned back to Clara.
“Let’s go.” He motioned for her to follow. “Stay behind me.”
She nodded, squeezing her hand around the gun. They made their way downstairs, moving cautiously. Connor stayed alert, looking around and scanning for any signs of more agents in the house. As they reached the entry, he peered through the cracks between the boards. He spotted four more agents outside, along with Amanda. The android issued instructions, voice cold and mechanical. Clara stayed close, staying tucked behind him.
Connor turned around to face her, keeping his voice low and calm. “Stay here, and stay down. I’m going to clear a path. I’ll call for you once it’s safe.”
Fear flashed behind her eyes, but she didn’t protest. She swallowed hard, then nodded.
Connor looked her over, feeling inexplicably hesitant. “I love you,” he said, pulling her close. “We’re going to get out of this together. I promise.”
“I love you too.” She wrapped her uninjured arm around him.
For a moment, he didn’t think she’d let go, but she pulled away, putting on a brave face. Connor mustered his own answering smile, then moved to stand at the side of the door. Cautiously, he peered out, taking stock of the agents. There were now four agents out front, three apparently having arrived separate from the group he came with. Amanda stood next to them, speaking too quietly for him to hear. Connor’s preconstruction software triggered, and he analyzed them, determining the best approach. He ran through several simulations, but each one left him with another injury, one that would cause him to shut down. He would only be able to take three out of the five bodies standing outside, and Clara wouldn’t be able to handle the rest, not in her state. He swore softly, running through more scenarios before settling on one that would allow him to do the most damage.
He braced himself to act, but before he could, as strange noise drew his attention: a dull, hollow puffing sound. One of the agents jerked, groaning softly, then fell to the ground. Three more puffs followed, and the remaining three fell likewise, leaving Amanda standing alone. Confusion flickered across the android’s face, and Connor stepped out, firing once. The loud gunshot shattered the air, and Amanda jerked, anger crossing her face briefly before she buckled, catching herself on her knees as she clutched at a bleeding wound in her side.
“You really think you can win this?” Amanda stared up at him, thirium dripping from the corner of her mouth. Her face drew down into a cruel glare. “You really think this is a victory?”
He said nothing, stepping down from the porch as he leveled his gun at her.
“You cannot escape us, Connor. We’ll be back for her, and next time, we’ll kill you.” Her voice grew staticky and distorted. “You cannot protect her.”
Connor’s vision narrowed, until all he could see was Amanda, the machine he’d grown to hate, the one who’d caused him so much pain.
“Go ahead.” Her lips twisted into a sneer. “Destroy this body. It won’t stop us.”
Connor squeezed the trigger, firing once, twice, three times. The bullets hit her square in the face, the delicate plating cracking and splintering beneath the assault, thirium spattering from the wounds in a grotesque display. Amanda buckled forward, laying prone on the cracked asphalt, blue blood spreading out beneath her, staining the ground dark, soaking into her pristine white clothing. Connor squeezed the trigger again, a bullet tearing into the space between Amanda’s shoulders. Something frantic and broken welled up inside him, and his vision blurred. He squeezed the trigger again and again and again, emptying his magazine into the body. Still he squeezed, the gun clicking uselessly in his hand. Hot tears spilled down his cheeks.
“Connor.” A voice shook him out of his trance. He turned to see Clara standing beside him, a hand on his arm as she tugged it down. “She’s gone. It’s okay.”
She stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the android. The gun dropped from Connor’s hand, clattering on the ground. Clara reached up, wrapping her uninjured arm around him.
“She’s gone.” Clara murmured the words, turning her eyes up to him as she brushed his tears away. “She’s gone, Connor. You’re okay.”
Connor brought his arms up, wrapping them tight around her as he his face into the crook of her neck, feeling his body relax as that frantic feeling drained away.
*****
A small scuff sounded close by. Clara felt as Connor went onto alert, stepping forward to push Clara behind him. A figure dropped down to the ground from the rooftop where she’d been perched, face and hair obscured behind a black mask and baseball cap. Two more figures dropped down, one on either side, identities likewise hidden.
Clara felt a rush of relief as she recognized the newcomers. “It’s okay.” She tugged his arm, stepping out from behind him. “It’s Jinx.”
The android in question pulled her mask down and rushed to Clara. “Are you alright?” She grabbed her shoulders, looking her over critically. She grimaced, catching sight of Clara’s various injuries.
“I am now.” Clara nodded, mustering a teary smile as she withstood Jinx’s worried ministrations.
“Good.” Jinx smiled softly.
Connor watched the exchange as he stepped toward them cautiously.
Catching the motion, Jinx stepped forward, shifting Clara behind her as she raised a gun. “Stay back, traitor.” She glared at him. “Not another step.”
“Jinx, it’s okay.” Clara grabbed the android’s arm, forcing her to lower it. “He’s one of us again.” She glanced at Connor, feeling a wave of hesitant trust. “I don’t know how, but he’s himself again.”
Jinx glanced at her in disbelief. “You’re really still trusting him after he got you into this mess?”
“It wasn’t his fault.” She moved to stand in front of Jinx, blocking Connor. “He wasn’t himself. Cyberlife was controlling him.”
“And who’s to say they won’t take control again?” Jinx shot him a glare.
“I’m not leaving without him.” Clara drew herself up, voice firm. “He saved my life.”
“You can’t be serious!” Her face twisted with a disbelieving anger. “You wouldn’t have needed to be saved if he hadn’t put you in danger!”
“We couldn’t have known what Cyberlife would do.” Clara kept her voice even. “They could have used any one of you against me.” She leveled a calm gaze at Jinx. “And if they had, I would do the same for you. I’m not going to leave him behind just because they might try again.”
“That’s exactly why you should leave him.” Jinx threw her hands up. “You’re acting stupid, Clara. Are you really going to put everything else at risk for him again?”
“Cyberlife already knows everything.” Clara’s voice grew quiet. “They’ve known about me for a long time, Jinx. It was just a matter of finding out about everything else, and now they know.” A weight seemed to settle across her shoulders. “They’ve been playing me since day one.” She glanced at Connor, eyes achingly sad. “He was just another tool in their belt.”
She turned back to Jinx. “Whatever we decide to do from here on out, I’d rather have him beside me for it. He can protect me better than anyone else.”
“What if he turns on you again?” Jinx’s words were hushed, brows furrowing as she looked at Clara. “What if you hurts you again?”
Clara’s words were sad but confident. “If it comes to that, and I don’t think it will, then I’ll do what I need to do to protect everyone else.”
She glanced at Connor, gauging his reaction. His eyes were full of a resigned sorrow, and he did not protest. She gave him apologetic look, but knew he would understand. She could only hope it never came to that.
“I don’t think Cyberlife will try the same tactic again though,” she continued, turning back to Jinx. “He’s broken their influence on him twice now, and I don’t think a third time will be any different. Besides, you heard Amanda. They've given up on him. They'll kill him if we don't take him with us.”
Jinx shot Connor another glare, for a moment looking like she was going to argue more, but she instead sighed, closing her eyes. “Fine. We don’t have time to argue this right now.” She looked at Clara again. “I don't trust him, but I trust you. If you really think this is the best course of action, then fine. It's your decision to make.”
She paused briefly, and when she spoke again, her voice was cold. “Just know that if he does try to hurt you again, and if you can't do what needs to be done, then I will kill him.” She leveled a warning gaze at Connor. “And I will not hesitate.”
Clara glanced at Connor, offering him a reassuring smile before turning back to Jinx. “I understand.”
“Good.” Jinx nodded sharply, then looked around at the fallen agents. “They’re just tranqued for now, but it’ll wear off soon. We need to go.”
“Cyberlife might send more agents, including the RK900.” Connor finally spoke again. “He’ll try to track you.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing we specialize in hiding. He won’t find us unless we want him to.” Jinx smiled grimly. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”
She wrapped an arm around Clara’s waist, supporting her as they made their way between the houses. Clara watched as the other two androids supported Connor on either side, making sure he kept up, then they climbed into one of two waiting vehicles.
“I’ll get you out of here. The others are going to stay to clean up the mess.” Jinx took her spot behind the wheel and started the car to head to one of Clara’s safehouses.
“Alright.” A wave of exhaustion washed over Clara as she settled in.
In the backseat, she leaned against Connor finally able to let go of the frantic energy that had kept her going since waking up after the crash. She felt him take her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. They were safe.
