False to Every Man

Chapter 2: Calm in Canaan

The Griswold 1:12 am 

"Well this one's nasty". Hank sighed, looking at the body. Cecilia's head looked in a direction that her body couldn't follow, and each limb appeared as if it were trying to escape from the other. Connor knelt next to her, halfway between shock and confusion. The way her mouth twisted into a permanent grimace almost made Connor feel sorry for her. He searched her face. Each eye was bloodshot, indicating an averse reaction to something in her system. But what? Connor looked further down, at the rash developed on her neck. It snaked underneath her lab coat, so Connor felt no qualms about removed it. Beside him, Hank frowned. The rash spiraled around Cecilia's arm in erratic splotches. At the epicenter, a fresh bruise marked a vein in her forearm. Connor stood up. Cyberlife paperwork was everywhere, but beyond that was the subtle trace of thirium.

Faint imprints of blue blood dribbled down Cecilia's desk. One of the officers scuttled away at Conner's approach. On the floor, a desk drawer, and it's contents lay scattered. Connor side stepped it. At the farthest corner of the desk, Connor found the highest concentration of thirium. There was a capsized vial, and a syringe not too far away, discarded on the floor. Cecilia Diggs finger prints were everywhere. They were fresh.

Officers continued to mill about the room, marking down objects and evidence, but all of the commotion melted away in an instant. Connor was alone in the room with Cecilia Diggs.

Reconstructing....

The figure before him leaned against the wall, needle in hand. It injected itself with the thirium and dropped the syringe. The figure stumbled, leaving thirium stains in their wake. In their struggle to stand, they knocked over the vial.

Reconstruction complete....

"Hank, I know how she died." 

"You better not have analyzed any blood samples to find out.". Connor shook his head.

"I didn't.". Hank gave Connor a dry stare.

Connor returned to the desk. A open laptop took up most of the remaining space. Connor moved a finger across the curser. The screen remained blank, but the interface was warm. Something jutted out from the computer's side. A flash drive. CAIN was scribbled on it in blocky letters.

"Hank, come see this.". The lieutenant meandered over. A shadow passed his face when he saw the object of Connor's interest.

"That doesn't look good."

"Do you know what CAIN means Lieutenant?"

"Heck if I know, but that looks like a file report in the morning.". An officer came running towards them. Hank threw up his arms.

"Sir, we found something.".  She offered Hank a piece of paper. The corners were freshly browned with flame, but the Cyberlife insignia had yet to be burned away. Centered on the page was a message: Jackal's gone, destroy Canaan. Hank groaned.

"This crap's getting weirder and weirder!". He passed Connor the page. "Go on, do your thing.".  A quick scan confirmed Ms. Digg's finger prints on the page as well as the routing number of the printer that was used, but there was a problem. When Connor connected to the printer, he also accessed the date the page was printed.

"Lieutenant, I think there's an error in my analysis."

"Come on Connor, there's never been an error in your systems before."

"But sir- the message- my results say it was printed at Cyberlife Tower- last night." 

"What? Cyberlife's been abandoned for years.". Connor paused, squinting at the paper.

"There also appears to be a blood smear on the rightmost quadrant of the page."

"Well analyze it why don't ya.". Faces and numbers whirled in front of Connor's eyes. Name after name came back inconclusive.

"They're not in our database sir.". Hank Anderson sighed.

"Never-mind the search Connor, Fowler can deal with this dump in the morning."

"But the search-"

"Come on son, it's late. Let's go home.". Lieutenant Anderson put his arm around Connor's shoulder, and walked him out of the room. Right before they left, Connor looked back at Cecilia. He couldn't help the shudder in his heart. There was still a tear in her eye.