Replacement [RK1700] -ENG-

Chapter 19

The break in the DPD caused emptiness in the office, when most of the officers went to eat something. Connor, Niles and a couple of others, who went to the break room, stayed in the building – they didn't have a better place to go.

Connor was leaning back on Niles' desk, counting how much time's left till the end of break. He knew what hour he should go get coffee for Hank to be able to bring it to his desk on time.

He waited for Markus, too, who said they had to talk, through the interface last night. He let him come during break and he impatiently moved a coin between his knuckles now.

"Hey, is everything alright, Con?" Niles' voice stopped his overwhelming thoughts.

Connor looked at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Markus should arrive soon and I'm nervous. He said he has to tell me something important and he sounded worried," he explained, hiding the quarter into the pocket.

Instead, he began to crease his button-up's cuffs.

"I'm sure it's nothing scary," he tried to calm him down.

He took his hands to stop him from the nervous tick and he looked him in the eyes.

They smiled to each other and Connor looked away, abashed. However, he didn't take his hand away and they forgot for a moment they should keep their professionalism, after all, they still were in the office.

"Whatever it is, I'll be here all the time, okay? Don't be afraid."

"I know, but the uncertainty eats me from the inside."

They heard footsteps then, clearly approaching the two of them. Connor raised his gaze and saw no one else than Markus himself. The android gained a few questioning looks from the officers, who still were in there. He ignored them, apparently determined to quickly transfer an information.

"Hey," Connor greeted, gently pulling his hands away from the hold.

"Hello," Markus answered, smiling a bit.

Niles nodded in greeting, feeling like he shouldn't talk, he let them have a conversation, sitting there like a ghost.

"What do you want to tell me?" Connor asked, obviously nervous.

Markus supported his weight with hands on the edge of the desk and looked at the android. He seemed to wonder how to began his sentence.

"You know I go to Jericho every couple of days and ask our people about any biases they have," he started. Connor nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue. What was he implying? "After what happened with Caroline and Louis, they got angry. They said about you being dangerous and... that we should get rid of you."

Markus brought his eyes at Niles, who stiffened, instantly realizing what he meant.

Whereas Connor expected anything but this. He blinked quickly, processing the new information. He stared at the floor, trying not to blow up. How did it even happen? He helped with the demonstration, contributed androids' victory, but... for him, there still was a long way to gain their trust.

He felt a hand on his arm. He turned to Markus, who gave him a comforting gaze. He got from him an unspoken assurance everything is okay.

„I...” he tried to say something, but he simply couldn't.

It was so damn sad.

"Calm down, everything's alright," Niles told, taking his hand and interlaced their fingers.

"You need to be careful, because even if androids respect me as a leader... I'm not their master. I can't force them to anything, I can't control what each one of them do, too. I can only advise them, but their anger..." He trailed off, remembering the enraged faces of Jericho members. "Seriously, keep yourself safe."