Work Text:
October 24th, 2039:
Fall had created an aura of orange, yellow and brown throughout Detroit as the trees coexisting alongside the glowing billboards and towering buildings shifted into dormancy for the impending winter. A faint smell of pumpkin spice and cinnamon spiked apple cider filled the air as everyone prepared for the chilly weather by bundling up in layered clothing and scarves. As pumpkins, candles, fake cobwebs, skeletal decorations and plastic bats began to appear and decorate windows and front stoops of the houses and apartments of the city, the precinct slowly became more and more guarded as every officer in the city prepared for Halloween and impending mischief just one week away.
It seemed that tension of preparing for mischievous kids and idiotic adults was beginning to wear down the resolve of the officers in the precinct with each passing day. Several officers were already short tempered enough to snap at one another, but as per usual, Gavin Reed was the worst offender when it came to insults and snide remarks that were far from professional.
"This has to be a new record." Hank remarked as he and Connor watched Reed getting chewed out inside Captain Fowler's office by their commanding officer. Yet another report against Gavin's attitude had been filed and the abrasive detective was receiving yet another verbal lashing. "Six reports in six days..." Turning to look back at Connor across from him Hank looked at the deviant as Connor held an ice pack to the back of his hand. "And now he's in the office before ten o'clock. Why in the fuck did he burn you?"
"Apparently I was in his way." Connor remarked as he kept the ice pack over the back of his hand. "It's not the first time he's had an issue with me and coffee."
"Why didn't you shout or anything when it happened?"
"I can handle Gavin."
"Yeah? For how much longer?"
"...Long enough."
"Kid, how many times has Reed been trying to fuck with you?"
"Do you want the exact time frame or an accurate estimation?"
"That long, huh?"
"Next month will be the one year anniversary of the peaceful Revolution, and Gavin hasn't changed his habits or attitude toward me or the other deviants in that time."
"You know you don't have to put up with his bullshit."
"I do know, yes. That's why I've been filing reports against him." Connor grimaced as he flexed his hand and put the ice pack aside. The burn had seemingly healed quickly and now Connor could use his hand again. "I alone have filed two-hundred and seventeen individual incident reports against Detective Reed, and he's only received verbal warnings and marks in his personnel file. He will never be properly disciplined and it's due to lingering bigotry from the higher-ups who don't want to handle an actual problem."
"Then I'll help you to-"
"No, Hank." Sounding more aggravated than usual Connor gave Hank an impressively stern glance from where he sat. "If you get involved then that means deviants still need to have a human's influence to be seen as people. It's time for that type of dependence to end."
"Good to hear." Picking up his mug of coffee from his desk Hank took a thoughtful sip and gave the deviant a nod of respect. "So, what's the plan?"
"As I stated before, I can handle him." Giving Gavin a cold glare as the troublesome detective stormed out of Captain Fowler's office and snatched his leather jacket off the back of his chair, Connor made it clear he wasn't going to put up with Gavin's attitude for much longer. "And I'll handle him this Monday. It'll all come to an end."
"Monday?" Watching as Tina chased after her hotheaded partner Hank tried to figure out what Connor had in mind. "On Halloween?"
"Yes. He and I are scheduled to work the night shift and I know from Tina that Gavin's favorite holiday is in fact Halloween. I'll be able to confront him alone and either make him listen to reason or wish that he had listened to reason."
"You're... what?"
"Connor?" Captain Fowler's voice called out for the deviant as the commanding officer hovered in the opened doorway of his office. Beckoning Connor over with a simple motion of his index finger, Captain Fowler waited for the deviant to respond. "My office."
Looking annoyed by everything happening Connor rose to his feet, straightened his tie and held his head high as he walked into his commanding officer's private office as requested. Without saying a word or looking to his fellow officers curiously watching the deviant walking across the bullpen, Connor knew he was in the right and Gavin was in the wrong.
Again.
"Man, that kid has way too much patience for his own good."
Ben overheard the comment and chuckled from his own desk. "Not for much longer."
"What do you mean?" Turning to look at Ben sitting a few feet away Hank gave his colleague a curious brow arch. "Connor's not the type of person to lose his cool."
"Everyone has their breaking point, Hank." Speaking as if he knew something that Hank didn't, Ben gave him a cautionary tone. "Even deviants. If they didn't then that Revolution wouldn't have ever happened."
Shifting his weight in his chair Hank turned around entirely and could see Connor getting a little heated as he spoke to Captain Fowler in the office. He knew it was getting serious when Captain Fowler turned on the opaque frost over the glass to keep the conversation more discreet.
"I don't what's going on this year," Ben continued as he gave Hank a casual shrug of his shoulders. "but I think Gavin's finally crossed the line. He usually mellows out around Halloween, and I have no idea why he's been cranked up to eleven this year."
"Connor can handle himself and that little asshole, so don't worry about it."
Trying to focus on his terminal and not on the private discussion behind him, Hank sighed and looked at the ice pack in the trash bin beside his desk with disgust. Connor had been wounded by Gavin in the middle of the precinct and didn't bother to say a word about it since it seemed as if no one was taking his reports against Gavin seriously.
"Shit." Annoyed and needing to focus on his work Hank stopped thinking about the problem and focused on another. "I fuckin' hate Halloween. No one has a sense of humor anymore."
Halloween Night:
The precinct was unusually tense as everyone had been waiting to see how Connor would finally put Gavin in his place and stop the bullying. The fateful night had arrived and by all account the deviant was on a mission. Standing alone in the corridor overlooking the currently vacant interview rooms, Connor danced his coin back and forth between his palms as if mentally calculating and preconstructing his next move carefully. Ignoring Tina's attempt to try to get him to join her and the rest of the officers in the breakroom to take part in a small Halloween party, Connor remained by himself and didn't say a word to anyone as he waited for Gavin to finally arrive at the precinct.
Standing in the breakroom Hank pushed aside a rubber bat hanging in his face and watched the way Connor stood idle in the corridor. He knew the deviant well enough to recognize when Connor was angry and holding his emotions inside.
"Cookie?" Tina asked as she presented Hank with a sugar cookie shaped and colored like a black cat with an arched back. "I baked them myself."
"Maybe later."
"Worried about what might happen between Gavin and Connor?"
"What else would I be worried about?"
"I tried to get Gavin to call off sick or at the very least trade shifts to work the morning and not night, but he won't listen." Letting Chris take the cookie for himself Tina lowered her voice as she spoke with Hank. "He loves being on patrol on Halloween because he gets to mess with people."
"Uh-huh, what else is new?" Unsure of what to do Hank sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "What the fuck is up Gavin's ass anyway?"
"I wish I knew. I kept asking him what was wrong but all he said was, well... Not nice things about deviants and to not worry about it."
"Not surprised."
The air grew tense and silent as Gavin arrived in the precinct and locked eyes with Connor. Approaching the deviant like he was caught in a tractor beam Gavin stood toe-to-toe with the deviant and sneered at him wickedly. "Heard you got a problem with me."
"No." Pocketing his coin Connor easily looked down on Gavin and kept his cool. "I merely wish to talk."
"Talk?" Scoffing at the comment Gavin made a show of drawing everyone's attention toward Connor and himself. "All right, the plactic-pretender wants to talk. so let's talk! What do you gotta' say to me, 'Tinman'?"
"Not here." Turning his back fearlessly toward Gavin the deviant motioned to the doorway to one of the vacant interview rooms in the corridor. "In private."
"What? Afraid of a crowd?"
"I merely want to give you the chance to spare your dignity. I suggest you take it."
"What did you-"
"Let's go." Not giving Gavin the chance to argue in person Connor walked into the interview room and waited for Gavin to join him. "I still have to go on patrol."
"Piece of fuckin' shit..."
The group in the breakroom watched in silent awe as the two detectives went into the interview room out of sight. No one knew what to say or think, but everyone did know to mind their own business.
Captain Fowler, who took notice of the interaction from his office, exited the private space to linger in the corridor as if expecting problems. It didn't take long for the group in the breakroom to mutter to themselves as if placing bets on what they thought was happening as rumors began to quickly spread.
Just as it seemed everything was about to boil over the group heard a loud, guttural scream echoed through the bullpen as Gavin's voice resonated through the entire precinct. "GET OFF OF ME!" He sounded like he was in horrible pain. "H-HELP!"
The group rushed toward the interview room just in time to hear Connor's voice shout in response to Gavin's claim. "You had this coming! Don't fight it..."
"What the fuck?!" Hank got to the room first, even before Captain Fowler, and stood in absolute horrified shock at what he saw in the isolated interview room. "Connor? Fuckin' hell..."
Gavin was sprawled over the table in the middle of the table on his back, motionless. Covered in dark red blood over his chest, abdomen and chin, Gavin clearly didn't stand a chance when Connor finally had enough of him and came after him with a large kitchen knife. Connor himself was still holding the knife and covered in as much blood as Gavin's motionless body.
With his L.E.D. glowing in red Connor looked up at Hank and Captain Fowler in the doorway and focused solely on Captain Fowler. "...I did what you said, Captain. It's done."
"Right." Entering the room Captain Fowler picked up Gavin's wrist and confirmed that the man was dead. "Good work, Sergeant. We'll put him behind one of the 'red ice' dens downtown and make it sound like he was killed by junkies. No one's gonna' miss him."
Hank was stunned speechless and had paled considerably. As the other officers joined him in the doorway and looked at the sight before them Hank could only ask a single question as Tina let out a horrified gasp. "What... the fuck?"
Turning back to Hank watching him with a shocked expression Connor answered calmly and coolly. "I told you that I would handle this, Hank. And I have."
"By... You fuckin' KILLED him?!"
"No." As he spoke a Devilish grin appeared on Connor's face. "By finding a way to get along with him." Holding the offending knife with its blade pointed upward Connor pressed the point into his palm and showed that the knife was a harmless prop. "...Happy Halloween?"
"H-Happy... What?"
Gavin suddenly sat upright on the table, looked at the stunned group staring at him and spit out a mouthful of fake blood onto the floor. "Boo."
Everyone was silent for a moment longer before Tina marched toward her partner and slapped him across the face. "You fuckin' bastard!"
"What?" Dragging his sleeve over his chin Gavin removed the blood on his lips while laughing like an idiot and rubbing his slapped cheek. "You love pranks, Ti'."
Hank put his hands in the air as if he could pause everything as he processed what had happened. "Wait, wait... You two," pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers Hank explained everything out in the open for everyone to hear. "conspired together to prank the entire fuckin' precinct?"
Tilting his head a little Connor confirmed Hank's assessment. "Correct."
"You little bastard..."
Captain Fowler turned to look at his officers and gave them all somewhat disappointed looks. "Well, good to know if there's an active murder inside the precinct you're all so quick to react. Impressive."
"But we-" Tina stopped quickly and let it go. "Know what? Gavin deserved to be stabbed! Not cool!"
"Sorry, but I couldn't resist." Gavin admitted as he shrugged off his jacket covered in fake blood, then pulled at the sticky fabric of the fake blood soaked t-shirt against his chest. "The 'Tinman' had too good of an idea to ignore."
"Whoa... Connor thought of this?"
Proudly Connor took credit for the prank and made sure everyone knew everything was fine. "Correct. I approached Gavin with the idea at the Fourth of July gathering and we've been planning this ever since."
"Since... July? Holy shit, I'm impressed!"
Hank needed to confirm something and wouldn't drop the subject until it was clarified. "So all the amped up bullshit from Gavin and you being burned, that was all apart of the plan?"
"It was all staged." Connor noted as he explained things casually. "Gavin and I approached Captain Fowler to let him in on the prank and asked him to hide the prop knife and fake blood in the interview room on this night. Gavin never burned me with coffee last week, I merely put an ice pack on the back of my hand and said he burned me."
"But... you..."
"Did you ever see the burn on my hand? Or witness any of the other times I claimed Gavin assaulted or insulted me?"
"Well, no."
"And when I was speaking with Captain Fowler last week, didn't you notice that Gavin was able to go about his patrol without reprimand and that Captain Fowler used the opaque frosting to hide our discussion afterward."
"So... you didn't stab Gavin and Gavin hasn't been an insufferable prick all year long?"
"No to the stabbing and no more than usual toward Gavin's attitude."
Gavin gave Connor an annoyed stare then smirked. "Hey..."
"Also, when you volunteered to make things happen for me I declined the offer. Yes, it is true that I should be taken seriously whenever I have a grievance, but if I allowed you to speak to the higher-ups it would've ruined the prank."
"Son of a bitch... You two conspired right under our noses and we didn't notice a thing."
"Are you mad?"
"Mad? No! I'm proud!" Clapping his hand down on Connor's chest Hank chuckled and then grimaced at the fake blood he now had smeared over his palm. "It's not often someone can pull a prank this good on an entire precinct. Good job, son."
"Thank you."
Captain Fowler decided to call it a night and waved his people away. "All right, show's over! Go back to the breakroom and go on your assigned patrols. Also work on your reflexes when someone calls for 'help'."
Standing back in the interview room while everyone departed Connor and Gavin looked at their bloody clothes and decided it'd be best to change before heading out on their patrol. The last thing the public needed to see was a couple of blood covered cops roaming around on Halloween night.
"I think Tina's going to get us back for this." Gavin noted as he watched his partner giving him a playful evil-eye as she left the room. "But it was worth it."
"It's interesting, I think I now understand why you like Halloween. It's actually... fun to pretend be someone different for a night."
"Yeah, Halloween was the one night of the year I could be whoever the Hell I wanted to be and no one could tell me I was wrong when I was a kid." Proud of his rather macabre prank Gavin chuckled again and then gave Connor an appreciative nod. "Thanks for helping me have a little fun. Shit's been rough this year and it's nice to let my guard down."
"You're welcome, Gavin. Happy Halloween."
"Yeah, Happy Halloween, 'Tinman'." Heading toward the door Gavin turned toward the locker room at the very end of the corridor to shower off. "I'm going to go on patrol before Tina can find me. She's a cunning prankster..."
-End of Story-