Chapter 25, Officer Down Part2

Chapter 25

Officer Down Part 2.

It’s 9:00 am on the following day, and two police officers are sitting next to each other, in their usual cruiser, listening to the police newsflash radio and all the instructions Reed had recorded in advance for the Metro West officers willing to intervene in the riot that will take place that day. No songs, no funny chat on the newsflash that day, no embarrassing recordings that might bring serious consequences to the people involved.

Finally, the difficult silence, between those two partners, is broken by the one, that dares to speak first:

“So is this the moment in which we hold hands…and repeat our vows to each other?”

Kaplan as usual, resorting to his good sense of humor and the jokes that help him cope with the dangerous reality to have been working in the police force for over 20 years, knowing well, that someday he might not return home, especially in problematic Detroit, where cops are killed almost every day. Comedy seems to soothe the fear, of what is expected for him and his adored partner Mason, later that day, when the riot starts approximately at 7:00 pm in the territory where Clover Hills and Cadillac Heights meet.

Mason: We never really married…dork…

Kaplan: And whose fault is it? It’s too late today…or we look for one of those Elvis wedding chapels? Before lunch?

Mason: And what will the wives say?

Kaplan: The three of you will be in my will, not to worry about that, you can cruise the Caribbean once you get the 80 dollars left in my bank account…

Mason: You’re not the one that dies today, partner…the bad guys will, I can assure of that

Kaplan: Either way…take care of my dogs and my tortoise that digs out tunnels in the backyard, making my kids weep for days, until the little shit is found back fooling around the neighbors’ gardens…drives my wife insane…

Mason: Seriously? That’s funny man, fucked up but funny…listen, if anything happens today, don’t leave my family alone…okay? My lady, my little boy…bring him along…to help your kids find that tortoise in the yard…be a dad for him

“Somebody is going to die today, Murphy!”

A bad omen. A hazy future.

It is that woman, his partner, his female companion the one that usually sits next to him in their police cruiser, the one who seems deeply concerned about the fate of all the police officers that will be present in the riot, later in that afternoon.

She looks different. Time seems to have passed; somehow they are allowed to be together in a patrol car again. Anne, seems to have slightly aged, and her hair is longer and curly. Her crystal green eyes show fear.

He won’t let her die that day, no one from Metro West will be. RoboCop is utterly confused on the images he sees, then a pinch on the backside of his head, an electrical buzz that lights up his servos and consequently he opens his eyes to the current reality. It was an artificial induced dream in which, his OS tried to be modified.

Instead of the saddened face of Lewis, Robo observes closely the concerned faces of two women, that although don’t seem to get along that well, apparently, were teaming up for a common cause.

Dr. Marie Lazarus is the one informing the bad news to him:

“We did everything we could…Dr. Tyler and I, but, as much as we tried…we could not wipe out Directive 4 from your systems, we are sorry Murphy…you will have to face them…today, this way”

RoboCop has been saving the secret of being able to override Directive 4 from his systems if he is up to face officers from Metro West. The day of the fire call in which his human anger made him point at Adams, Riggs and Smith, knowing well that a single shot from his Auto9, was able to go through the human torsos of the three officers.

However, his own reasoning told him to stop. OCP executives and rehabs, are still, banned from him to take direct action if they are up to attack the civilians, the rebels, and he fears for the life of them, and the life of Lewis.

The same sad reflection of his half-human fleshy face on that industrial refrigerator, two concerned women dressed in lab robes, worried, one on each side of the chair that has been the only bed he has known for the last new years of a life, he definitively did not ask for.

That image, gives him a reality check once more of the way, the external world sees him. A laboratory experiment that has been capable of inspiring certain compassion among human beings.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? are you going to track down the guy to the depths of Clover Hills?? He doesn’t even remember who you are, and you’re up to give yourself this suicidal mission, seriously?, we’re supposed to create a barrier in the outskirts, not get there!”

Anne doesn’t want to listen to Estevez, as she packs her heavy artillery in the trunk of her patrol car. The woman has become numb whenever people have tried to make her reason and she is utterly tired of listening to them saying that RoboCop is a heartless, soulless piece of equipment she should not have such emotional attachments for.

They don’t know him. No one does, nobody else has lived with him what she has, however she is too tired of trying to explain that to the rest of the world.

Whatever relationship she had managed to have with him she knows, that if restored, will never be seen with the approval eyes of the rest of the police force and OCP. An impossible love, they call it.

“Okay you do your work and you bring me the head of RoboCop at the end of it”

Inside Moore’s laboratory, a heated discussion has been taking place: The desperate doctor that is unwilling to lose his important client, has been trying to bribe McDaggett into capturing Robo, alive enough, he’s able to perform the dissection he needs, to sell the “Secret of RoboCop” to the clients that Faxx had gotten for it.

McDaggett: And what if our TDX units, decide to wipe the mechanical monkey completely? I can’t really control my machines…

Moore: I have been financing most of the leisure times your apes in uniform have been having since their loiter around Cadillac Heights…for you to come up with this shit to me…

McDaggett: Look. My boys could get the “stuff” anywhere else. The financing? Whores? I can pay for that too…in reality it’s been stupid Johnson the one getting us the arsenal we need, so before bringing you the head of RoboCop so you can play soccer with it…my main focus is to erase all that scum people from the area, so the pretentious bitch builds whatever city he wants to build in…we cash the money and we leave this disgusting town…

Moore: The stuff are you sure huh? N-14 without my refinement would have already killed your officers…more over, you’d need to find someone else to laser erase all the mercenaries’ traits that your team have imprinted in their bodies, tattoos, birth marks…we don’t want the rest of the world to know, you hired “reformed” assassins as police officers, correct?

McDaggett who has been reluctant for a long time to capture Robo alive for Moore’s purposes, has preferred to think that in the middle of the riot, RoboCop could be completely eliminated, as he has represented a big threat to the rehab team and his plans to clean up the more problematic areas of Detroit by using unorthodox methods. Making it look like an accident, would be the best way to inform Johnson, that his favorite toy is gone for good.

Nevertheless, Moore’s blackmail, have made McDaggett think things over. The doctor had been apparently friendly enough to offer his medical services to help his recruits join the rehab team by erasing the physical marks of the criminal life they had, before becoming rehab officers.

No one else, but Moore and Johnson know the shameful secret that the rehab team in reality was formed out of mercenaries and ex-convicts.

Closed fists and apparent anger, McDaggett leaves Moore’s laboratory in arrogant silence. It doesn’t take long for someone who apparently was hiding in the bathroom, to walk back to where the doctor was sitting down.

It is Dr. Fletcher and she seems to have a close relationship with the doctor. The elegant woman, sits down on a couch and immediately starts to retouch her makeup.

“It fucking feels like it’s a mask and it’s gonna fall off…”

Moore: That’s because those doctors didn’t allow me to finish the work on you…seriously? That fake Swedish accent? The red hair, Juliette you’re a disgrace…how are you going to fool everyone that it’s not you again?

Fletcher, is Faxx in reality. The prison bombing was just a façade that was organized by Moore and her lover Schysler, to get her out of jail. Unfortunately, Juliette was close when the dynamite was detonated and she was taken in an emergency ambulance to Detroit’s Memorial Hospital.

Moore then, was wise enough to intervene and fake the woman’s death. Taking her to a private facility in which her face was reconstructed to give her a new identity: Angela Fletcher, the invisible freelance collaborator that had been helping with the design of the TDX units from a distance.

Johnson and the rest of the OCP crew are unaware that Faxx is back and she wants revenge. And this time she is willing to team up with Moore to eliminate RoboCop in the more sophisticated way possible:

The cyborg cop will be put under a live dissection that would probably not survive and would be a slow cruel torture, to be able to extract the secret of his brain connections. The way Murphy’s human brain was re-wired by using technological advancements and artificial nerves is the mystery well kept by OCP and the secret files of Bob Morton no one seems to have access to.

If such design can be replicated, there could exist more hybrids like him. Then the person that holds the patent for cyborg creations will become a millionaire.

Apparent friends, Moore and Faxx, they have teamed up for a long time trying to bring their project to the reality, however, Faxx secretly thinks it was her genius idea to sell the secret of RoboCop to Biomechanics and that she should take all the credit and money for it.

Moore, thinks that without his medical expertise, Faxx would be lost and her millionaire agreement with her important client, would go to waste, he also secretly thinks, the money should be for him only.

Then there is the complication of the old man wanting his new robotic unit. The old man is unaware, there are no real plans to build him his new unit, but the dissection of RoboCop will be used to be sold as the most valuable marketing secret, OCP has been storing for a few years.

“Just resist, and this will be over soon…” Those are the last comforting words, Bertha tells her people, before she gets out and faces the riot that is taking place outside. A red church, that safe guards all the innocent people that should not be fighting. Mothers, small kids, elder people.

The strong, bulky woman charges her machine gun and hangs it on her back. Looks at her wedding ring one more time, thinking that revenge time, has arrived.

“We will be together soon, my love…”

That’s the silent whisper and the promise to her deceased husband, Moreno Knowles. It is a suicidal mission and she knows it, however, if someone can bomb the Rehab hidden facility, that would imply freedom for her people, and also, revindication. Justice, will be made.

The well equipped Robo1 has just arrived to Clover Hills. “We don’t want the fucking cops here!!” Bottles and all kinds of objects are thrown at the car, without damaging it in the bare minimum. RoboCop has to be strategic enough to pick his battles. Too much of a big disaster, people yelling firing and attacking others with improvised weapons, the two more dangerous gangs of Detroit have finally reached their desired match.

The Nuke for Christ gang and the Splatterpunks, are fighting over the battered territory of Clover Hills and parts of Cadillac Heights.

Some civilians that could not run away in time, run in fear and despair, when hearing the explosions. Molotov cocktails thrown at the windows of buildings and houses.

“Protect the innocent” Pops out on his computerized vision. Although RoboCop’s main objective is to prevent Bertha from destroying the rehabs facility, his high sense of duty and his directives won’t allow him to ignore the innocent people that are enduring this war.

Robo1 slows down and RoboCop starts shooting from the car’s window, efficiently wounding the perps that were taking advantage of the situation to rob a group of scared civilians. The scared people run away and two of the perps remain bleeding on the ground. However a third one comes from nowhere jumping on the front of the patrol car, trying to break the windshield with a hammer. In a senseless move, Robo accelerates the engine, running over the suspect. There is no time to perform arrests.

“Murphy is here, we are safe, he wouldn’t let us die”

Those are the hopeful words that can be heard among the cops that are holding shields and smoke grenades, making a barrier at the entrance of Cadillac Heights, where the church is located, to protect the people that are gathered there.

Lewis feels her heart will pop out of her chest as she sees Robo1 parking near them. She wants to say so much, but there is no time. The policewoman feels Robo is going to face a suicidal mission to protect the rest of the cops of Metro West that decided to intervene in the riot.

As usual, the gang of coward cops, can’t be seen anywhere, Smith, Riggs and Adams refused to join the mission, it is only Lt. Hedgecock, Michael, the brother of deceased Roger Hedgecock and his SWAT team, and the few cops that agreed to comply with Reed orders, the ones that are there.

RoboCop exchanges a few words with Michael, and then drives away in his state-of-the-art police car. He didn’t even look at her. Robo is interested in getting into the depths of Clover Hills and tracking down Bertha, that according to his advanced GPS system, seems to be heading out to the hidden training facility of the Rehab team.

“I am going there to help him…” That is what Lewis informs, her partner, Estevez, as she starts to get ready to drive her cruiser and starts to give Alana a few voice commands. She will be tracking down her significant other, and she will prevent him to be destroyed by OCP.

Estevez just shakes her head in disapproval and decides to stay with her fellow cop friends and the SWAT team, wishing Anne good luck in her quest.

A few minutes after Lewis driving off her unit, a heavy explosion can be heard. The Rehab team have arrived and they seem to be bombing the areas where the innocent civilians are guarded, like the red church.

“They are civilians there! Just trying to stay warm!” It is Mason the one informing Rehab superior officer Lyle that they are making a terrible mistake and should focus on stopping the two gangs that seem to be fighting against each other.

A Molotov cocktail falls right in front of the police barrier, a few stoned Splatterpunks in a tuned truck vehicle start yelling hysterically as they head towards the SWAT van of the police, almost as a kamikaze mission.

The members of the SWAT, open fire and they efficiently wounding two of the perps, however, they can’t stop the vehicle from crashing against the van. “Run!!” That’s what Lt. Michael Hedgecock orders his team, before the gas pump explodes.

“These idiots! They sent them to kill us!!” That’s the loud complaint of Estevez, as she hides behind a parked cruiser, avoiding the explosion and starts opening fire, against the vicious criminals.

“Where is your commander? Where the hell is your commander?” Kaplan keeps pointing his firearm, his Glock22 semi-automatic pistol, with laser sight, the red dot is on Lyle’s forehead and the arrogant officer decides to resort to his radio instead of giving a response to the infuriated cop.

The cries of women and children distract Kaplan’s attention :

“This is what they wanted partner! To distract us with those junkies! So they could get rid of those people!”

Mason, who seems to be in an altered mental state, starts running towards the church, in between the fire and the smoke, the exploding SWAT van caused.

“No, partner wait!” Kaplan tries to dissuade his partner from getting into the church, without backup. He helplessly tries to convince Hedgecock to not leave the crime scene, however, the SWAT team is struggling against the barricade of crazy perps that seem to be under the influence of N-14 and the officers seem to be busy to not care about the civilians, at least not for the moment as the Nuke for Christ gang members, start jumping on the police vehicles as well.

The cop knows he can’t leave his partner alone and runs towards the church too, the scenes that can be witnessed there, are heart-breaking. Members of the Rehab team dragging people out of the building, violently, without respecting their rights, people getting hit on their faces with shotguns and truncheons.

“This isn’t right, they are supposed to be in our team!” That’s what one of the scared officers tells Kaplan as he walks pass them. Kaplan well knows, that the biggest criminals they will have to fight that afternoon will be the rehab team and not really the members of the vicious gangs.

“Leave them alone!” Mason tries to helplessly have a body to body fight with one of the rehab officers, however, backup is there and the rehab gets suddenly hit in the head with the butt of a gun.

“You called for backup?” Those are the words said by Kaplan, that are comforting to Mason. His partner is here, they will be able to save all those civilians together.

Estevez knows she has to do something and leaves her hiding spot to try to take some of the scared people, away from the line of fire. The policewoman wonders, how things must be going for Lewis. Since she refused to join her in her quest on protecting RoboCop.

The hidden facility, a big abandoned white building that has graffiti around the outer walls, almost undetected, the building is nearby a cliff. RoboCop remembers that strange dream in which Lewis held his hand and asked him to jump together. A similar place than the one he saw in his dream, that’s where the yellow battered van of Bertha is parked. RoboCop gets out of his vehicle and scans the place using his computerized vision. He can detect, he is not the only artificial life form that is in that building.

The basement’s metallic door is open and RoboCop enters the place, just to be surprised at what he finds.

“All of you, you will die…” That’s what Bertha keeps chanting, as she keeps setting smart bombs and the bespoke explosives her illegal factory produces, around the place.

“You are under arrest, you will have to come with me, deactivate all those explosives, now”

RoboCop, informs the rebellious woman in a senseless way, as he points at her with his auto 9.

Bertha: You were supposed to be one of us! Now, you’re going to betray me and tell me you’re part of the grey fucking police? What’s wrong with you? Did they format your brain or something like that?

RoboCop: No. You’re in direct violation of penal code 33, vandalism and terrorism in a police facility, surrender your weapon, come with me.

Bertha: No! You can’t stop me from doing this! They will pay! For what they’ve done to us!

RoboCop: Bertha, you won’t survive this mission. There are rehab officers on the above floor, but not all of them are in this facility, you will obstruct our police investigation, if you explode the place, no evidence will be left.

Bertha: So for what? Your sergeant takes them under arrest…just to be released by those OCP pigs later on…

RoboCop: We should, follow, the police procedure…

“There are children underneath the altar” A broken robot priest is on the floor chanting religious songs and three scared children are hiding behind it, underneath the main altar of the red church. Baby cries can he heard all around the place. “Give me your hand, kid, come on, I don’t bite” Kaplan’s friendly approach is interrupted by a tall, aggressive rehab officer, that heavily hits him on the back with the butt of a shotgun.

“Bastard!” Mason efficiently fires off the shotgun from the rehab’s hands.

“You can’t attack our officers, we will put you under arrest now!!” Lyle is back and this time he has been instructed to stop the police officers that are obstructing the eviction from Cadillac Heights, until the last consequences.

“Murderers!! This is what you want! To clean up Cadillac Heights by getting rid of these innocent people! We are the ones putting you idiots under arrest!”

Kaplan keeps painfully dragging himself on the ground, just to be attacked by the same rehab officer, once again. He gets kicked on the floor and the police man, whilst writhing in pain, barely covers for the kids to run away. At least they’re safe now, the cop thinks.

“Leave my partner alone!” Mason angrily jumps on to the bulky officer’s back starting a physical fight between the two. Lyle just observes in silence, it is time for their commander to take action.

“Leave this building this is a direct order!” It is commander McDaggett entering the church with a speaker trying to intimidate the police officers that are helping the civilians to escape from being taken as hostages in the Rehab vehicles, just to be taken to deserted places, and being shot there. “You, whoever your name is, keep evicting people…” Those are the orders given to the problematic rehab officer, by Lyle.

“No, you leave this place now!” Mason points his firearm, in rage to McDaggett and Lyle. “No, no, partner, don’t do it…let’s call sergeant Reed” Kaplan tries to helplessly reason with his partner, even if his bad physical state avoids him from standing up and fighting alongside him.

Kaplan realizes that he might have been attacked with a sharp object as he sees blood pouring from the left side of his torso. However he is more concerned about his partner standing up against McDaggett on his own.

“No, no, let’s call Reed…partner, look at me…”

Mason is enraged and overwhelmed, can’t really be reasoned with. “This is your last warning, police from Metro West, we don’t want you here…” McDaggett’s defying words just make the police man, even angrier.

“What do we do with this one?” Lyle sarcastically asks his commander.

“Well, he attacked one of our own, so, we just acted in self-defense…” McDaggett snatches the machine gun from Lyle’s arms, just to mercilessly fire at Mason’s without giving him time to react. The surprised officer can’t believe what has just happened to him, his blue uniform is turning red and the bullet impacts have made him fall to the ground, in a violent way.

“Noooo!!!”

Kaplan manages to stand up and take out his own firearm, aiming at McDaggett’s head, however, it is Lyle the one that shoots Kaplan in his right leg avoiding him from killing his commander. Police sirens can be heard outside and McDaggett walks away, in the middle of the confusion and Kaplan, although wounded, drags himself in rage and manages to fire for a second time, and efficiently wounding Lyle on his arm.

“Backup is here!” That’s what can be heard from the outside. Michael is back with his team to help the police officers of Metro West that have been helping the civilians, escape from the rehab’s clutches.

Estevez is also back to the church, just to discover in horror what has happened to Mason and Kaplan.

“Don’t move guys!! Oh my god!!! I will call a Medical unit right now!!” The nervous policewoman takes out her radio with shaky hands to ask for a Medivac unit “Officers down! Officers down!”

Kaplan keeps dragging his wounded body, to check up on his partner, who seems to be going into shock, lying flat on the floor bleeding profusely.

Some of the civilians that saw the courageous act try to lift the wounded policeman, and place him on the altar of the church, they don’t know what else to do to help. Kaplan, painfully stands up, just to walk towards the altar, where he anticipates, his partner will live his last moments.

There are candles, everywhere, not even the gunshots fired inside the church, could blow out all the lights.

The blue uniform keeps turning red and Kaplan feels his heart breaks as he tries to stop the blood pouring from his partners body with his hands. A woman approaches him with a torn piece of cloth trying to help.

Even if they try to cover his wounds, Mason has been losing much blood, he keeps shaking and silently crying.

Kaplan: Just hold on, sweetheart, come on…we have a date next weekend, who will dance country with me now?

Mason: You…you suck…at dancing man…

Kaplan: No, I want to embarrass you there, that’s my specialty…

Mason tries to reach out for his best friend’s and partner’s hand. He feels, the end is near. Adrenaline, and although everything hurts, he wounded policeman can’t really feel the pain that really corresponds to the gravity of his wounds.

Mason: So…here is when we say our vows to each other…?

Kaplan: Partner come on, don’t talk like that…Medivac is on their way, look at me, I’m a shitty mess too, they will patch us both…to keep working on these goddammed streets, we should clean them for our children…you can’t abandon me…

Mason: You…you, take care of my boy…my lady.. don’t leave them alone…

Kaplan: Yes, I promise you that…

Mason: Also, fuck them over…get them partner…get them for me… and for all the people they killed today…

Kaplan: That…I swear to you…my brother

The hand grip becomes loose, Mason, has stopped existing. The world seems to have crumbled down for Kaplan, his best friend, ally, partner, has just died in his arms. The unbreakable bond that exists between police partners can only be compared to a marriage. The strong partnership shared between two police officers that never gave up on cleaning the problematic streets of Detroit has ended.

“Officer, down…” A broken voice, and those are the only words, Kaplan can say on the radio, requesting for help. Everything seems like a nightmare for him. His vision becomes blurry, his surroundings are confusing and he feels he has no strength on his legs, the wounded policeman starts to slowly crouch, his knees bend, as the pain on his torso has become unbearable.

He knows he will lose conscience too, but the strong promise he made to his best friend and ally, somehow, maintains him barely conscious.

“No…no…Kaplan, talk to me, hey man, it’s me…Estevez, stay with me, man, stay with me”

The loud voice of a female officer and then he sirens of the Medivac unit can be heard outside the church.

Estevez knows, Mason is gone and she is struggling to keep awake the one friend that is still alive. She gently places Kaplan’s head on her lap, trying to keep him conscious of his surroundings. The paramedics are finally in the place and Kaplan is being put in a portable bed, oxygen and first aid are there.

Estevez, stands back in tears, looking at the heartbreaking scene.

“It was them…girl, the rehabs…did this…” Those are the barely audible words Kaplan can say to his fellow cop friend before an oxygen mask is placed on his face.

“Who of them, who? Who, Kaplan, who??” Estevez wipes her tears as rage has taken over, she tries holding Kaplan’s hand hoping he will say more. The paramedics advice the female cop to stand back as they need to rush the man to a hospital.

Then, Mason. He’s been put in a plastic black bag, and will be taken to the city Morgue now, to get an autopsy done.

“This is what they do to us? Fuckers!!” Estevez yells out loud, out of pain, despair and anger.

“You’re both under arrest…none of us is going to die, inside this stupid place…we wait, for sergeant Reed”

It is Lewis, firmly pointing at Bertha with her pistol, avoiding the woman to take another step and keep on replenishing the place with explosives. The annoyed policewoman, also points out at her former partner, hoping to discourage him from the idea of remaining in that dangerous place for any longer.

“So look, who is here, Robo, your girlfriend and she seems upset…what have you done to her?”

RoboCop is overwhelmed to see, Lewis had followed him to the depths of Clover Hills. His dream, he can’t allow Lewis to die that day. His human emotions are triggered just by seeing Lewis up close, holding her gun pointing at him.

RoboCop: What are you doing, Lewis? You should not be here

Lewis: Now you remember who I am!! Let’s get out of this place! Once the first bomb explodes the monkeys that are up there, will find out we are here! There are TDX units in this place! Do you want to get yourself killed?

RoboCop: Officer Lewis, there is no need to point at me with your gun. Please keep yourself safe away from this facility and call for backup. This situation is under control.

Lewis: Fucking hell! Stop talking to me like a damn machine! You remember me!!! I know you do! You have nothing under control! Bertha is crazy! Will get all of us killed!

Whatever argument those two cops are having, Bertha takes the advantage of the distraction and goes up the stairs to set another explosive that will detonate in less than a minute. The woman doesn’t care if she dies in the process, of getting her revenge.

Alana: Anne, my operating system detects imminent danger, surrounding you and user number two, OCP Police 001. It is my recommendation, to step away in a radio of 10 meters. A detonation will take place in 40…39…38…

Lewis intelligent device has warned the two police officers, a explosion will happen in less than a minute

“Somebody is going to die today, Murphy”

His dream, her sad face, that belongs to an alternative universe. The countdown for the explosion and he is conscious of the slow heavy cyborg he is. The cliff, in which Lewis and he were going to jump together, everything connects, everything makes sense.

RoboCop thinks, that if he able to save Lewis and Bertha from the explosion, it would be like “cutting the branches” like that story Tyler told him about his cat dying.

Bertha has crouched nearby the explosive. Waiting for her death to come. Lewis ran away from the warehouse and she standing outside it nervously typing words and saying voice commands to Alana, in aims her portable OS can stop the main smart bomb that if, exploded, will cause a chain reaction that will detonate all the other explosives that were set around the basement.

He has to think fast and prevent the disaster. Then he knows. RoboCop walks out of the basement too and approaches Robo1, opens the pilots’ door and interfaces with his main computer, using his data spike.

Suddenly the smart vehicle starts moving by itself. Robo1 can be considered as a robotic unit of his own, the car breaks the basement door, abruptly driving inside it, just to stop right in front of Bertha who is amazed at the A.I. of the vehicle.

The woman Bertha agrees to get inside it, and Robo knows just a few seconds are left for the place to explode.

The desperate embrace that becomes a protective shield, RoboCop tries to cover up as much as he can, the body of his female partner. It is a sudden reconciliation, that could only last moments and perhaps it will be the end of the strong partnership RoboCop and Lewis have shared for that long.

The inconclusive love story that was hindered by all the ill-intentioned people around them. Condemned and judged. Persecuted, just for being different.

Now, perhaps, it will never be, and will remain as the impossible love story between two different beings, that although could connect their souls and transcend the physical form, were never given enough time to really connect their different matter bodies and consummate the real love that exists among them.

RoboCop wonders how strong did Morton really make him. And the metallic shell in which he has felt trapped for years, now, it is his only hope to survive or to make Lewis survive. It doesn’t matter if he is turned into pieces again, if she remains alive.

The embrace, that Lewis had been dreaming to receive once again. Just to realize it had been her imagination and the strong tortured man she has feelings for is nowhere close and had been separated from her.

They are together now, but she also wonders for how long. Lewis wishes that if she doesn’t survive, RoboCop’s strong body makes him prone to be rebuilt again. All those moments. In which he painfully tried to approach her and she didn’t see it. The big rants she made inside the car when Murphy seemed way to robotized to correspond to her feelings and just unfair silence, was all she could get out from him.

None of those things matter anymore. Perhaps one of them will die, perhaps it will be both of them. However, for two cops that devoted their life and afterlife to fight for justice, this would be the right way to go. In the line of duty.

“Murphy if I’m gone…after this, I want you to know, that I love you…I always will…and if we go together, I will find you in the next life, my love…”

Alana: Detonation will happen in 10…9…

RoboCop: No. We won’t find ourselves in the next life. We remain in this one.

TO BE CONTINUED.