Chapter Text
November 6, 2038
12:59 AM
It started, as most things in your life did, with a bullet.
A single bullet, straight through the skull of Carlos Ortiz's android. The HK400 pitched forward and slumped onto the table, eyes wide and unfocused, bullet from your gun embedded in the back wall of the interrogation room. The silence in the room was deafening. Even the RK800 stuttered for a moment, as if he hadn't expected this outcome. The gun slipped from the deviant's fingers clattering uselessly onto the floor, cutting loudly into the silence.
Chris yelped as the gun hit the floor, jumping back as if startled from a trance.
"Jesus Christ, kid!" Hank exclaimed.
"Holy-" Gavin started, "Why the hell didn't you do anything about that?" he reeled on the RK800, whose LED was steadily cycling on yellow.
"My apologies Detective Reed, but I did try to warn you about the deviant's rising stress levels and-"
"I don't care about the goddamn stress levels, somebody could have died!" Gavin growled, grabbing the android by the front of his jacket.
"Hey now, there's no need for any of that!" Hank said, trying to step between them.
"Gavin watch it, you're gonna-"
"Useless fuckin' android-"
"Alright, that's enough, all of you!" You shouted, placing your gun back in it's holster. "He looked like he was going to shoot someone so I intervened." You tactfully left out the fact that he was most likely only going to shoot the other android in the room. Gavin didn't need to know that. "I'm sure if anyone else had been standing where I was, they would've done the same. Regardless, there's nothing anybody can do about it now so," you pointed a finger at Gavin, "You can cut it out. It's been a long fucking day and I'm ready to be done with this."
"Couldn't have said it better myself, kid," said Hank, "You heard 'em Gavin, let the tin-can go and check that we got that on video. Then help Chris take that thing down to evidence."
"You think you can just-" You fixed Gavin with a glare. "Fuck! Fine, I'm going." He made sure to bump the RK800 with his shoulder on his way out.
"Thanks for that," Chris said, picking his gun up from the floor. "No use speculating I guess but, yeah. Thanks." You gave him a nod as he followed Gavin out the door.
"While it is... unfortunate that the deviant was destroyed, I agree with Officer Miller. Your quick thinking prevented everyone from potential further harm." You blinked toward the android with slight incredulity. While it wasn't uncommon for androids to display conversation-appropriate thankfulness, it was usually never given so earnestly. The RK800 looked at you expectantly. You shrugged.
"I really didn't see that going any way other than bad so, uh, yeah. No worries."
"C'mon you two," Hank beckoned, "We should write up a report for Fowler. Quicker we do that the quicker we can all go home." You sidestepped as Hank made his way to the door. Before you could follow, the RK800 extended his hand toward you.
"I don't believe I introduced myself to you earlier, as you entered the viewing room as the interrogation was already in progress. My name is Connor, I'm the android sent by CyberLife to assist with the ongoing deviant investigation. And you are...?" You shook his hand and opened your mouth to answer before getting cut off.
"Seriously? You scan me no problem, but ask them for an introduction?" Hank grumbled before giving the RK- Connor your name. Your eyes widened.
Oh shit.
"I did scan them. However, I thought it might be less unnerving to ask for their name directly, seeing how unreceptive you were to finding out that was one of my features," Connor turned back to you and released your hand with a polite smile. "It's nice to meet you Detective."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Lets get this over with so I don't ever have to see your fuckin' face again," Hank huffed. Connor gave you one last smile before following the Lieutenant out the door.
Fuck. Of course he can scan people, he's a fucking police detective android, You thought.
Current Level of Stress: 77%^
You ignored the floating indicator.
Shit. God, this is bad. This is really, really bad. You better hope your little code worked Elijah, 'cause I'm gonna fucking need it.
You took another breath you didn't need to take and exited the room to the steady drip, drip, drip, of thirium on the table.
— Three Months Prior —
August 16, 2038
02:09 PM
"I do hate you, I hope you know that."
"Oh come on! You take a four month vacation and it's like I don't even know you anymore."
You stop to stare back at your cousin, aghast, "Vacation? I got fucking shot! You were there! Also, you talked to me constantly as soon as I wasn't in a coma. Because of the, you know, getting shot?" Gavin rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, and? You got transferred immediately and they wouldn't let me see you in person for the entire fucking time. Obviously the only reason they did that was because you secretly made the whole thing up to go to, uh, Florida, or something."
"Florida, huh?" You shook your head, "Wow. You got me. Out of everywhere I could've possibly gone for four fucking months, I picked Florida."
"I couldn't think of anything better, asshole!" You rolled your eyes and kept walking, corner of your mouth quirked up in a small smile.
It was a gorgeous afternoon, one of the rare summer days where the humidity was lower and the sun wasn't bearing down so oppressively over Detroit. An alert flickered at the edge of your vision, telling you that the Current Temperature in Detroit is 78° Fahrenheit. Humidity is at 54%. Current Chance of Precipitation is-
You blinked away the weather hub that was quickly filling your field of view. You stole a quick glance at your cousin to see if he noticed. He hadn't.
Today marked your official first day back in the city, and Gavin insisted that you both go out and do something to celebrate. He tried to make it sound like it was for your benefit, that he just needed to make sure that you still knew how to get around Detroit after being away for so long. Which was probably the closest thing you'd get to an 'I missed you' from him. It was quite sweet, really.
"I'm surprised you didn't jump at my offer to get you lunch. Usually that's a done deal if you don't have to pay for it," Gavin said. You gave him a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, yeah. They still got me on, uh, a diet to help with the healing process. It would probably be fine at this point, but I don't want to risk it."
Gavin stopped in his tracks, threw his head back, and lifted his hand dramatically up to his temple, "It's like I don't even know you anymore! My little baby cousin, being all grown up and listening to the doctors!" You rolled your eyes.
"Oh shut up," You turned to him, deadpan, "I swear, it's like you're somehow still 13 years old. You realize I'm barely a year younger than you right? You don't have to continuously patronize me at every possible opportunity." He blinked, hand slowly returning to his side.
"Okay, damn. Maybe you are still in there, Jesus."
"I'm kidding."
"I know."
You fell into a comfortable silence as you finally arrived at your destination: Riverside Park. You made your way over to lean on the railing separating the rest of the park from the water. You leaned forward against the railing. Gavin turned to lean back against it. Neither of you said anything for a while. You just listened to the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, and faint activity from other park-goers further down the path. Gavin took a deep breath and rubbed his hand down his face, as if searching for the right words to say.
"I- you-" He paused and took another breath, "Don't do that shit again."
You turned your head to him, slight pinch between your brows. "What do you mean?"
"You know, like... ugh," He turned his head away, "You could've died. I mean, shit, you almost did! I've never been so terrified for anything in my life. Ever."
"Gav-"
"No, don't. It's alright," He pushed off of the railing and started to walk away. "Fuck, I didn't mean to ruin your first day back with emotional shit and-" You grabbed his shoulder.
"Gavin shut up, for god's sake." He looked at you, startled.
"If I could've avoided being shot, trust me, I would've gladly done that. I just-" a breath, "If it wasn't me it would've been that kid, and I couldn't let that happen. It's all in the past now and I'm... I'm alright." Gavin stared at you for a second, before pulling you into a hug.
"I missed you," he said, words muffled in your t-shirt. You blinked in surprise and slowly raised your arms to embrace him back.
"I- yeah. Me too."
He stepped back after a moment, wiping his eyes. "Okay, that's enough of that. The sun's too high in the fucking sky to be having that kind of conversation."
"I agree," You watched him struggle to find another topic of conversation, one to help him wrestle back the 'cool guy' persona he was so dead-set on perpetuating. Your tone turned teasing as you changed the subject.
"So... since I've been out for so long, I've definitely missed out on a lot of work gossip and was just wondering-"
Gavin leveled you with a suspicious glare. "Don't you even start-"
"How's it going with you and Hank?"
"Fuck you. You really know how to bring the whole mood down."
"What? I'm just asking. Honestly, I'm surprised you're even still alive without me there to stop you from being a little bitch to absolutely everyone at the precinct."
"I'm not a little bitch to everybody!"
"Yes you are Gavin."
"Hey-"
"You kind of tolerate Tina and that's it, and I'm almost 100% certain that's only because her wife brought the two of you donuts before a stakeout that one time. In the entirety of the time we've worked there you have been the absolute worst."
"I- listen, it's not my fault not everybody can handle my rugged charm."
"You're just proving my point."
"You know, I'm starting to wish they kept you longer." You snorted, facade cracking as you punched Gavin lightly on the arm.
"Rude." You rolled your eyes as Gavin chuckled.
You heard him take a breath, as if he was about to say something else before cutting himself off. You looked over to him curiously. A few feet from where the two of you were standing, a couple approached the railing. Gavin's gaze was locked on the AP700 trailing them a few steps behind.
Your eyes darted between your cousin and the android, watching intently as Gavin seemed to be debating the pros and cons of causing a scene in the middle of the park.
"C'mon," you said, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go."
Gavin broke from his intent stare down of the android and followed you away from the railing.
"Fuckin' androids," he huffed. "Did you see the news this morning?" You blinked.
"No, I didn't," you said. Gavin let out a wry laugh.
"Apparently a brand new 'police investigator' android has hit the market. One of 'em supposedly saved a little girl from a rouge android last night." Gavin looked away, mouth set in a grim line. "Won't be long now before all of us are replaced.
You stared back at him and felt your chest seize, the place where your heart had been—where it should have been—feeling emptier than ever. Instead, your thirium pump continued operating at optimal capacity, beating at a steady rhythm despite the thrum of discontentment buzzing through your synthetic veins.
You swallowed. "I doubt it."
Liar.
November 6, 2038
09:32 AM
Your fingers paused on the keys of your terminal as it finally clicked. The RK800. Connor. He was the android negotiator from three months ago. Fuck.
You had gone straight home after leaving the interrogation room last night. Gavin had tried to catch you on your way out, but you ignored him. You loved him to death, but sometimes there was only so much of him you could handle before you started wanting to cause him physical harm.
You stared at the blinking cursor on your screen.
Right.
You hadn't typed up a report last night like Hank had suggested (it's not like you needed to get the information down before you forgot, you remembered the entire thing in perfectly recorded clarity) but still, you froze, searching for the right words to say. Your thoughts drifted back to him. Connor.
Current Level of Stress-
You dragged a hand down your face, unable to escape the icons and indicators even with your eyes closed.
Stop worrying, you probably won't ever see him again anyway.
The cursor blinked at you ominously, taunting you with the weight of a report that really shouldn't have been as difficult as it was to write. You took a cursory glance around the precinct to make sure nobody was watching before quickly interfacing with your terminal and inserting a perfect recollection of the events last night. You'd spent long enough at your terminal doing nothing but worrying already, and you honestly couldn't be bothered to type everything out the human way. You gave the report a last once-over before sending it over to Captain Fowler. You heaved a sigh and leaned back in your chair.
"Good morning, Detective."
"Holy-" You jolted back in surprise, chair tipping over as you were unable to quickly counteract the shift in weight distribution. Connor, fast as lighting, grabbed you under your arms before your head could crack against the floor. You looked up at him, eyes wide and panicked as he looked down at you, LED shining yellow on his temple. You watched as a few extra strands of his hair fell softly against his forehead. He blinked at you for a moment, LED cycling back to blue as he helped put you back on your feet.
"Apologies, Detective. I didn't mean to startle you," The corner of his mouth raised in a small smile. You stared at him, mouth agape as you tried to get your mental processes back in order.
Whatthefuckwhatthefuck-
He ducked down a little, looking into your eyes with an expression that could only be described as concerned, before speaking again, "Detective, are you alright?"
You blinked, his words cutting through your stupor as you realized you had just been standing there gawking like an idiot for way too long now-
"Oh! Right, yes! Sorry. I'm fine! Thank you for- uh, catching me," You winced at how quickly the words tumbled out of your mouth. You looked around and saw several of your coworkers staring directly at the two of you. Shit.
"You alright there?" Chris called out from across the room.
"Yeah, it's all good. Sorry for the ruckus everybody," You raised an apologetic hand to the room as everyone's attention slipped back to what they had been doing. You let out an internal sigh of relief.
"Detective, do you know what time Lieutenant Anderson usually arrives?" Connor asked you, polite smile still lingering on his lips. You sidestepped him as you picked your fallen chair up from the ground.
"Well, that depends on a lot of different things actually," You say, rolling your chair back into place. "He's usually not in before noon so..." You looked towards the clock on the wall reflexively before your internal systems provided you with the time. "You might be waiting for a while if you want to see him." You paused and gave the android a once-over, "I was under the impression that we weren't going to see you again?"
Connor tilted his head, LED quickly flashing yellow as he contemplated how to respond, "My assignment has been extended. I am to be paired with Lieutenant Anderson in the ongoing deviant investigation."
"Ah, so that's why you're looking for him. Well, his desk is right there across the aisle," you said, gesturing to it. "The desk across from his is currently vacant, if you need a place to sit and wait." His LED spun yellow for a moment before he turned back to face you.
"Thank you, Detective. I will do just that."
"Yeah, no problem." You watched as he walked to Hank's desk first, poking around and analyzing everything that was on it. You watched him for a little longer than was strictly necessary before sitting back down at your desk, - Report Sent - notification still plastered across the screen of your terminal. You mentally facepalmed as you looked at it.
That was close. WAY too close. Shit. I'll be more careful next time.
With a light sigh, you closed the notification and started scrolling through some of your work assignments. There was nothing too urgent waiting for you in the queue. There were a few cases you were still waiting on forensics for, and a few more eyewitness accounts you'd need to collect later. There was only one new case file in your inbox. It looked to be a grouping of several incidents. You moved your cursor to click on the file when-
"Detective, may I ask you a personal question?" You looked up at Connor, who was once again standing next to your desk. You blinked at him, confused, before answering.
"Um, sure. I don't see why not."
"What is your relation to Detective Reed?" Connor tilted his head, awaiting your answer.
"Oh, uh. He's my cousin. We grew up together. I actually started working here because of him. Started about a year and a half after he did," You paused, narrowing your eyes slightly at the android before continuing. "Why do you ask?"
"I noticed that Detective Reed seems to be more receptive to your input than he is to anyone else's. He also became agitated a few minutes ago when I asked him about your whereabouts. A behavior that would make sense if he had a close relationship with you, combined with his apparent distaste for androids." Connor looked down at you with a smile, seemingly pleased about his deduction. You smiled back, slightly disarmed. It took a moment for his words to set in.
"Wait, you just talked to him?"
"Correct."
"He didn't try and fuck with you did he? He can be such an ass, if he did anything I can-"
"It's alright Detective. He didn't do anything that wasn't within his jurisdiction." You scanned him. He wasn't lying.
"Alright, if you say so," you said reluctantly. Connor continued to hover over your desk, LED flickering between yellow and blue as he thought of what to say next.
"Do you have a cat?"
You quirked your brow at him. "No, I don't. Where's that question coming from?"
"You have some cat hair sticking to your jacket. It seemed like a logical assumption. I like cats." You blinked.
I like cats, he says. Cute.
You rolled your chair back slightly, terminal forgotten as you continued talking. "I don't have a cat, but Gavin does. I go over to feed her when he's off detective-ing and can't do it himself." You paused. "Don't tell him I told you that. It hurts his ego when people know he owns a cat. Don't ask me why, I genuinely have no idea." Connor let out a short chuckle at your insistence.
"I'll be sure to avoid that topic of conversation when I speak with him next." You couldn't help but smile at the teasing tone his voice had taken. "What's her name?"
"Her real name is Terminator, but we just call her Minnie."
"That is an... interesting name."
"Gavin found her abandoned in a box in an alleyway. She scratched the hell out of him when he first tried to move her and they've been best buds ever since." Connor nodded, filing that information away before scanning over your desk.
"I see you have several CD sleeves from a variety of artists pinned to your board. Are you a collector?"
"In a way, yes, I suppose. I like having physical copies of those types of things. I like that they take up space. I do the same with movies and books. CD's are getting harder and harder to come by these days though, so I don't have as many recent albums as I would like." You paused, considering your words before continuing. "Is there any particular reason why you're asking me so many questions?"
"I was programmed to adapt to human unpredictability. I believe that learning more about the people I will be working with and maintaining a friendly relationship with them will increase the probability that they will be more helpful to the investigation in the future."
Ouch. Just another step on the ladder, huh?
"Did you try this with Gavin?"
"That is correct. It... did not go as planned." Connor looked sheepish at the admission. You snorted.
"Aw, Jesus. What's that thing doin' back here?"
"Morning, Hank," You said, spinning your chair to face the Lieutenant. "You're here early."
"Yeah, well. Didn't have anything better to do," he said gruffly. "I'll ask again. Why's it back?" Hank gave you a pointed look, making sure not to spare a single glance towards Connor.
"It's good to see you again, Lieutenant. We are to be-"
Hank cut the android off with a wave of his hand, "I wasn't askin' you."
Before you could respond, a sharp voice cut across the precinct, "Hank! In my office! And bring that plastic thing with you!"
"Fuckin' hell," Hank muttered, looking at you like you had personally arranged for this to happen. You gave him a shrug, mouthing a quick 'sorry!' as he groaned, dragging his feet toward Captain Fowler's office. Connor trailed after him like a lost puppy.
You turned back towards your terminal once again, finally pulling up the new case assignment. Your eyes widened as you scrolled through the file's contents. Missing android, assault, missing android, missing android, assault, homicide, missing android, assault. Your eyes skimmed each file, confusion taking over your features as you read on. Destruction of property, missing android, homicide, homicide, assault, missing android.
"243 files... what the-" Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of your name shouted from the Captain's office.
"Detective, your turn! Get in here!" You took one last dubious look at your terminal before stepping into Captain Fowler's office. Hank shouldered his way past you on his way out, shaking with thinly veiled anger. Your eyes focused on Connor, still standing in the corner, before turning and speaking to the Captain.
"Is everything alright, Captain?"
Captain Fowler leaned back in his chair with a groan, hands to his temples as he addressed you, "I'm puttin' you on the droid case with Anderson."
"I'm sorry, the what?" You asked. Fowler sighed.
"CyberLife's been bustin' my ass for weeks tryin' to pawn that thing off on us to help them get their rouge android problem under control. I've got ten new cases involving androids on my desk every day, reports of assaults and even homicides, like that guy last night. This has become more than just a CyberLife problem, it's a criminal investigation and we've gotta deal with it before things get even more out of control. Hank's one of my best investigators, but I can't trust that he'll do his job being paired with that thing," he pointed to Connor. "That's partially why I'm bringing you in on this too. You're the most level headed Detective on the force, and Hank's got a soft spot for you."
"Are we gonna be okay putting both of us on this case?" You asked. "I mean, everyone's overloaded enough as it is. I don't want-"
"I want this problem handled, and fast. You used to work for CyberLife, right? Before you started here?" It felt like someone had shot ice into your veins.
"I- yes, sir."
"Then I can't imagine a more qualified team to take this on. Now hop to it! The case file should already be in your inbox." You opened your mouth to protest and faltered, reply dissolving on your tongue as you turned to the door.
"I'm very pleased to have joined the team," Connor piped up. "I can assure you I'll do my very best-"
"Close the door on your way out."
Fuck.