Archive of Our Own

Work Text

>>>December 12, 2038 <<<
The irritating ring of his morning alarm startles Gavin Reed awake with an exaggerated groan. He is still half-dressed in what he’d been wearing last night when he and Tina had decided to go out to the bar. An onslaught of light shines through his bedroom window and he lifts a hand to block it out with a hiss. The curtain rod had broken off months ago and he’d been too lazy to fix the damn thing. Over the throbbing crescendo in his head, he swears to himself he’s going to fix the f’cking curtains before he gets blasted with Tina again.Gavin only gets out of bed when Winona starts screaming at him for food. Gavin adds “buy electronic pet feeder” to the ever-growing list of chores he will never get done as he walks into his kitchen. When he reaches into Winona’s food cabinet and cracks one of the cans open, she howls at him with more fervor while clawing at his jeans. Gavin winces. Who taught her to be so f’cking loud?“Shh,” he groans, putting a hand to his temple before bending and shaking the food out of the can and into her bowl with an unappetizing ‘plop’. “Are you trying to kill me this morning?”Rather than answering or paying her owner any degree of attention, Winona runs to her food bowl and begins eating like Reed has been starving her for days. He scoffs at her eagerness.“Drama queen.”Now that the princess of the apartment has been taken care of, Gavin turns his attention to his own morning needs. He gives himself a sniff-check and winces at the lingering booze smell. First things first, he needs a shower and a good brushing. He doesn’t need to go into work smelling like Hank. God, how pathetic would that be? He shudders at the thought.Before heading for the shower, Gavin preps his coffee machine and sets out the biggest thermos he owns. He’s going to need every drop and probably 3 more refills just to get through this morning alive. Strutting into the bathroom, he fervently twists the shower valve to “nearly burn my skin off” hot. As he steps under the boiling spray of the shower, he lets out a relieved sigh. He stands there for probably too long before scrubbing his skin like he’s trying to scrape it right off his body. He does this until the stench of alcohol melts off– overpowered by the cheap $10 body wash he bought from God knows where.One task checked, he dries off and dresses in a fresh pair of jeans and a black v-neck shirt. Absent-mindedly, he walks back to the kitchen when he stops, groans, and turns back around. Teeth. His breath is– one huff into his palm, a sniff, a wince– rank. No way he’s talking to anyone today without giving them toxic shock, at this rate. He pouts as he grabs his toothbrush and toothpaste even though he knows this is going to make his morning medicine (coffee) taste like shit. He spits into the sink once he’s satisfied his breath no longer smells like death and examines his face in the mirror. Yep, still looks like shit, but at least he doesn’t reek. Honestly, that made today already better than most days. Maybe his grateful coworkers would award him with a medal for his valor. He scoffs at the idea of Fowler bestowing him with the medal of honor for basic hygiene.Shaking away the stupid thought and looking at the time, Gavin swears and runs out of the bathroom. He stops long enough to pour the coffee from the machine into the bottle, give Winona a quick scratch behind the ears, and grab his signature brown leather jacket before racing out the door.“Shit! F’ck it, Tina owes me one,” Reed grunts as he whips out his phone.
7:42 AM [Dicktective: Tina, u haf 2 clover 4 me. ]7:43 AM [Dicktective: *cover ]7:45 AM [GirlFiend: Hmmm what’s in it for me? ]7:48 AM [Dicktective: u owe me 1 btch ]7:50 AM [GirlFiend: Doubt it but whatevs. ]7:51 AM [GirlFiend: Just hurry up bitch! ]
It’s moments like this where Gavin appreciates having a friend in Tina Chen. No matter how much shit he gives her, she always comes through for him– and vise-versa. They make an odd duo, he knows, but there isn’t anyone in his life he trusts more than her. Although, he would rather die than tell her that. Ugh, he can hear her lording the admission over his head just thinking about it.Gavin hops onto his motorcycle and takes off towards the precinct faster than the legal limit. When everyone started making the switch over to automated cars, Gavin decided to keep a hold of a more retro form of transportation. By driving a man-controlled bike, he’s able to swerve and drive fast enough to almost make it to work on time. Sure, he’s almost cracked his head open a few times, but what is a little blood between friends?Pulling into a parking spot, Gavin checks his phone to gauge how screwed he is: 8:17 AM. Not terrible timing, if he did say so himself. Rather than patting himself on the back, he hoists his sorry ass into work. Hopefully Tina managed to come up with a good cover.Upon entering the bullpen, he sees she most certainly did not.Everyone is gathered at the front of the offices, apparently listening to the Captain announce something, before Reed’s startled entrance turns everyone’s attention towards him. Gavin looks wide-eyed at his colleagues before he catches the eye of Tina Chen. She gives him a shrug and mouths ‘sorry’ before Gavin’s attention is drawn by the chief.“Detective Reed,” he seethes, “how nice of you to finally join us.”Before Gavin snarks back, he notices that Connor is standing beside Fowler. Except he isn’t Connor. The android beside the captain is too tall to be Connor and too… well, robotic. His eyes are a mix of light gray and blue, dark brown hair slicked-back and perfectly coiffed, and there were no moles or freckles that adorned his face like Connor had. Gavin looks at him with a mixture of confusion and disgust.“Please tell me we’re not getting a new plastic prick,” he spits before his brain can catch up and stop him. He sees the toaster’s LED spin yellow and so does Connor’s as he moves to stand beside the new android; giving Gavin the biggest stink-face he can muster.“No,” Fowler growls. “And you better watch your fucking language if you want to keep your job, Gavin.”All Gavin can do is shake his head at the absurdity of the picture in front of him and wonder if he ever woke up this morning or died and was sent to Hell. The captain gives him a not-so-subtle gesture to stand with the rest of the precinct. Gavin stuffs his hands in his pockets and shoots not-Connor a look before joining Tina, who jabs him in the ribs rudely.“Nice going, asshole,” she whispers bemusedly. The captain is clearly keeping an eye on him, so Gavin grits his teeth rather than answering her.“Now,” the captain continues, “Connor, will tell us more about the RK900’s features.”The word “features” gives Gavin pause. The captain had been riding his ass ever since the “android revolution” about how androids are people now, so why would the captain use a word that is so clearly objectifying? Honestly, the only reason Gavin tunes into Connor’s boring speech is because he can smell a rat.“RK900, as many of you might be able to tell,” Connor beams, hooking arms with the new addition and gesturing between the two of them, “is my younger brother!”RK900 doesn’t react, but Gavin thinks he might pass out from how hard he rolls his eyes. Connor is so full of shit. All sunshine and rainbows and ‘omg guys meet my brother’ even though that’s not how androids f’cking work. Who did he think he was fooling? He may have been smiling as far as what can be considered naturally possible, but Gavin can tell Connor isn’t comfortable with the other android’s rigid coldness. A small smirk tugs at Gavin’s lips despite himself. Maybe the new plastic prick wouldn’t be so bad to have around after all.Connor continues his tirade, “So I hope you all,” he looks directly at Gavin, and Gavin’s smile widens in faux innocence. Connor narrows his eyes but his own combative grin widens, “treat him kindly. Now, when it comes to RK900’s skills, you won’t find a more reliable partner. RK900 is military-grade and has specialized skills in both combat and interrogation. Such features include…”And that’s where Gavin stops listening. The new toaster is definitely looking at him. His LED is blue, but cycling in a way that Gavin recognizes as analysis. He should put up more of an uproar over the lack of privacy– because he’s no doubt looking Gavin up or some shit– but he can’t lose it on a new member of the precinct in front of the captain; android or no.Fuck it, let’s see how good this plastic is.‘Scanning me, ‘droid?’ he mouths.The machine does what Gavin thinks is supposed to be a smile, but he falls short. It honestly looks more like a facial twitch. Reed scoffs and crosses his arms when RK nods minutely– just enough for him to see. Reed cocks an eyebrow but the robot doesn’t offer any more of a reaction.He’s trying to gauge what the noobie is thinking when Connor says it.“One more thing to consider when working with RK900,” he tries to sound casual, but everyone can see his LED flash red and settle on yellow. “RK900 has chosen to remain un-deviated and does not have my social protocols, so it may take awhile for him to adjust to our office social norms. Please be patient with him while he gets settled in.”
Affronted, Gavin scowles at the RK900. This prick isn’t ‘deviated’ or whatever? What was that whole show it put on for Gavin just now? Did this asshole think it could fuck with him? Because, if so, he would be more than happy to show this tin can how metal is melted down and repurposed.Hold it. Wait. Why would an undeviated android with no social protocols be analyzing him and checking him out? As far as he could tell, this thing hadn’t been analyzing anyone else. Although, his tardiness might be the cause for that– androids can google at super-speeds, after all.Gavin’s face pales and then goes red-hot. No way. No f’cking way. He was not going to be like Anderson and have a stupid plastic puffed-up puppy dog following him around! If this “RK900,” Connor, or the Captain thought any differently, then Gavin was about to unleash Hell on them all.“Thank you, Connor,” the Captain nods respectfully. “Now, everyone get back to work. RK900, Connor, my office please.”Gavin does his best to glare holes into the new tin-can and mouths once more,’You’re not going to be my f’cking partner, got it?’The robot has the nerve to smile back– but only its lips tip up slightly so it looks super f’cking creepy.Gavin thinks he’s about to blow a gasket and he must be right, because Tina is grabbing his arm and dragging him to her desk. She forces him to sit down in her office chair, opting to perch on her desk instead. She’s kicking her feet and giving him the mischievous eye-smile combo that he knows means he’s in deep shit.“Soooo,” she begins, “the new guy is pretty cute.”Gavin crosses his arms and glares at her– a warning. “The Connor 2.0 bot?” He rolls his eyes. “Like we need another useless scrap heap around.”She smacks him in the arm. Harder than she needed to, in his opinion.“Don’t say shit like that, Gavin,” she admonishes. “Androids are people now, too.”“Yeah, but what were they before that, Tina?” He snarls. “Androids. And what is a bot that is quote-unquote ‘non-deviated’ called?”She glowers at him, but submits, “An android.”“Yeah, T. And I’m not desperate. He’s a machine; end of story.”“Oh yeah?” She leans forward and scrutinizes him for a moment. “Then what was with all that eye-fucking you two were doing?”“WOULD YOU–!” He looks this way and that– making sure no one heard the ridiculous shit his best friend was spouting. “Would you keep your f’cking voice down, T? I was not” he reddens “...doing that.”She looks thoroughly unconvinced. Gavin is mentally preparing himself for the onslaught he’s about to receive from her when Connor storms out of Captain Fowler’s office. It’s already a shocking sight but– God, Gavin wishes he thought to pull out his phone– the look on Connor’s face is what has him smiling from ear-to-ear. It looks like someone shit in Robo-Cop’s whatever-the-android-equivalent-of-cereal-is.When that look turns towards him, however, his heart sinks into his stomach. He looks to Fowler's office and, sure enough, the Captain is waving him over from his desk.“Oooooh~” Tina sing-songs. “Looks like someone is getting a new partner.”“Like Hell,” he barks and storms to his boss’s glass door.On the way, an arm shoots out and grapples him with unwavering strength. Too surprised to process what’s happening, Gavin is yanked towards Connor hard enough to have Gavin’s bicep throbbing.“Listen to me, Gavin,” something dark and barely concealed creeps into Connor’s voice and it makes Gavin frown uncomfortably. “I know you and I enjoy partaking in rivalry, but I will– and I sincerely mean this– break every bone in your body if you mistreat RK900.”Normally, Gavin would bite back, but the pressure on his arm is sure to bruise and he’s afraid Connor might actually be strong enough to snap it. The memory of having his ass kicked by Connor still haunts him. He’s long since learned that Connor is stronger than he looks. Gavin scoffs and bolsters his tough-guy persona.“What? The new guy? I wouldn’t dream of ruining– what was it you called it? Our ‘bromance.’”Connor flushes blue and unclamps his hand from Gavin’s arm, “I’m not proud of that.”“But you are proud of threatening your fellow officer?” He stabs and is rewarded with Connor receding more into himself. Bullseye. “I wonder what your successor would think if he saw you right now. Oh, wait!” Gavin turns to the glass office to see that, indeed, RK900 is watching them both intensely.Gavin gestures to the office with a disingenuous “whoopsie!” look and Connor flushes darker in shame. “Would you look at that? It can see you!”“He,” Connor mutters softly, but venomously, “not ‘it.’”“Yeah, whatever,” Gavin waves him off. “Try not to get too used to harassing me, asshole. I might not be so nice next time.”With that, Gavin turns and leaves Connor sinking in his shame. He swings the glass door open harder than necessary and the RK900 is still staring at him. Unnerved, Gavin snarls a ‘the f’ck are you looking at?’ at it and refuses to sit. Opting, instead, to stand behind the seat RK900 isn’t posed in. Fowler shoots him a dirty look but doesn’t press it.
“Gavin–” he begins, but Gavin isn’t having any of it.“I’m not working with it,” he interrupts bluntly. “End of story.”“You will work with him if you want to keep your job.”Gavin rolls his eyes, “Puh-lease. How many times have you threatened to fire me? I’m the best detective you’ve got. You won’t get rid of me.”Gavin knows he’s pressing his luck, but he hasn’t had his second thermos of coffee yet and the hangover is starting to pound at his temples again. The stupid morning meeting had run over 20 f’cking minutes and boiled down to a verbal circle jerk about how spectaculamazetastic the newest RK model is. In short, he has no patience to put up with this bullshit. Besides, it’s true. His success record should have had him promoted to lieutenant a long time ago, but with all his disciplinary write-ups he’s been held back from rising through the ranks. Even if he is a pain in the ass, Fowler can’t just drop the best detective in the precinct.“Read my lips, Reed. You will work well and diligently with the RK900. I’m not asking, I’m telling. If you don’t comply, I’ll demote your sorry ass. Better yet, I’ll pair you up with Connor since you two are so buddy-buddy.”Damn. That actually is rather threatening. Of every annoying suck-up in the precinct, Connor was by far the worst. The only person’s ass Connor didn’t kiss was Gavin’s– thank God. However, that did mean working with Connor– the few times it happened– were Hell. Connor must have deactivated every “social protocol” he had when working with Gavin, because he had treated him like absolute dog shit. Then, the moment they returned to the office, Connor had skipped over to Hank, tail wagging as if he hadn’t been a nightmare the whole fucking day. Gavin swore then that he would never work with Connor again. Swore it to anyone who would listen. Loudly.Gavin grits his teeth, “For how long?”“Until I say otherwise,” Fowler’s tone is still harsh, but he’s softer when Gavin relents. “The RK900 requested you, specifically, so you’d better treat him well. One more write-up and I’ll make him your partner until the day you die, Reed.”“What?!” He looks at the RK900, who is completely neutral, which only serves to piss him off more. “You can’t be f’cking serious! Captain, this is so unfair. Partner him with someone else. Anyone else!” He pauses for a moment, banging his fist on Fowler’s desk a few times for strength. “Please.”“It’s too late, Gavin. I’ve assigned him to you and set you up on a new case. Now, get to work.”Fowler’s tone leaves no room for discussion and the red-hot fire of rage boils over before Gavin can compose himself. He kicks the chair he refused to sit in with all his might– directly at the RK900. Besides tipping its head slightly, almost in consideration, it doesn’t react, which only fuels Gavin’s anger. He turns and storms out of the office after throwing a few more less-than-polite words towards the android. Fowler bellows something after him, but he doesn’t hear it or care. It’s only after he reaches his desk that he realizes the RK900 is following him way too closely.“Back the fuck up, toaster, before I unplug you. Permanently,” he seethes.“I would be surprised if you could find my plug-in, Detective Reed.”The monotone retort gives Gavin pause. His anger is tamed by confusion just enough to look at the android with bewilderment. Its face gives nothing away until Gavin notices its lip is quirked slightly on one side. A smirk? This thing was trying to f’cking smirk at him. It both made him want to wring the bastard’s neck and want to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.“Was that supposed to be a joke?” He snarks caustically, unbelieving.“It was supposed to be, yes. Did you find it humorous?”Gavin gives it the most unenthused look he can manage, “Yeah, tin-can. You’re a regular ol’ comedian. Now, leave me the f’ck alone.”“As you wish, detective.”Gavin follows the machine’s movements with his eyes. It takes no more than 5 steps to reach the desk directly opposite Gavin’s. He watches, awestruck, as the android sits in the desk chair and turns to look at him expectantly.“Is this sufficient enough, Detective?” It askes, and even though its tone conveys nothing, Gavin is sure it’s mocking him.“I can’t f’cking deal with this right now,” he mumbles to himself, grabs his thermos, and speed-walks to the break room and away from the bot that is still staring him down.“I’ll get started with the case, Detective.”He waves a hand vaguely, “Do whatever you want.”As soon as he is out of sight of his new “partner”, Gavin deflates. This day had really turned around to kick him in the ass. His head is throbbing and now he has a glorified roomba to take care of, to top it off. As soon as his thermos is refilled, he chugs half of the scolding nectar before topping it off again. His mouth is burnt to shit and his throat aches, but it’s a welcome distraction from every other f’cking thing wrong in his life right now. God, he needs a break.He should stay in the break room to avoid his new plastic pet, but he knows it’ll only delay the inevitable. With any luck, the case he and the toaster are assigned to will be an easy solve and Captain Fowler will take the ‘droid off his hands. Newly caffeinated, Gavin treks back to his desk, only to have his heart leap into his throat. RK900 is exactly where Gavin left him– sitting perfectly straight like he’s got a pole up his ass– except now someone sits on the edge of his desk, chatting away.Tina Chen, who he once thought was his best friend, but who might actually be his greatest enemy, is sitting and talking to the RK900 animatedly. When he catches her eye, he can see the mischief lighting up her face and quickens his pace to meet them.“The f’ck are you doing, T?” he accuses.“Whatever do you mean, Detective Reed?” she invokes innocently. “I’m just introducing myself to our new colleague.”“Bullshit,” he crosses his arms. “What were you really talking about?”The question is clearly directed at Tina, but the android butts in: “Officer Chen was giving me details about your personal life, Detective; which I informed her was inappropriate, but she insisted.”Gavin could feel his face get hot and never before had he wanted to strangle his best friend so much.“Oh yeah?” he muses, teeth gritting. “What did she say?”Both Gavin and Tina are completely thrown when, instead of giving a normal, natural reply with his own voice, the RK900 mimics Tina exactly:
“‘Hey, RK900, right? My name is Tina. Tina Chen. Sorry you got stuck with Gavin– it isn’t easy working with him. He hasn’t had a partner in years– work related or otherwise. Heyo! Haha, but seriously, if you have any problems, I’m available anytime. Here’s my number.’” RK900 switches back to his normal voice, “I then informed Officer Chen that while I appreciate the gesture, I have no wish to get on your bad side. I have every faith we will work together well, Detective.”Throughout the whole spiel, the android’s face didn’t emote or change once to match Tina’s bright, cheery tone; which makes the already uncanny mimicry even more uncomfortable. The two humans are quiet for a moment, completely unprepared for what just happened. Before he can compose himself, Gavin is laughing. Maybe it’s the caffeine finally kicking in or maybe it’s just how bad this thing is at reading the room, but Gavin laughs until his sides hurt just a little bit.“Wow, I didn’t know androids could f’cking do that with their voices,” he wheezes.“Oh, yes, detective. Rather easily. Would you like to hear my impression of you?"His immediate instinct is to say no, but instead he says, “Yeah, kind of."Shaking off her embarrassment, Tina chimes in, “Ooh! Ooh! Wait, please make him say–” She leans in and whispers something to RK900 and it nods back at her politely.“Ahem,” it begins and Gavin rolls his eyes. “I, Gavin Reed, being of sound body and mind, would like to admit that Tina Chen is a smarter, more capable officer than I will ever be.”Tina cackles and Gavin rolls his eyes again, but this time his smile betrays him, “Hey, how about you use those spectacular officer skills to do your job and leave us to ours?”Tina pouts. “Boo! Fine. But the next time we go out drinking, you’re joining us,” she insists, jabbing a finger into RK900’s chest.It’s nearly unperceivable, but Gavin notices the android's eyebrows tick up slightly. “Very well, Officer Chen.”“Please,” she giggles, “call me Tina.”Its LED spins yellow for a moment before it nods. “Very well, Tina.”She giggles more and it grates on Gavin’s nerves, so he shoos her away. She laughs louder as she walks back to her desk. Gavin shoots a nasty look after her. He doesn’t like his new partner, but that doesn’t mean he wants Tina using it for fun and games. When he turns back to the RK900, it offers him a case file.“Here you are, Detective. I’ve prepared the case in paper-format but I’ve already read the details of the report. Would you like to hear them?”Gavin scoffs and leans back against his partner’s desk, arms crossed. “Yeah, sure. Knock yourself out.”It rattles off, “At approximately 2AM, an HR400 was found permanently deactivated in an Edith Club trash can located behind the building. The cause of deactivation was multiple blunt-force wounds to the head, but the victim also has laceration marks all over the body. No retrievable fingerprints were found on the HR400. The club owners claim the Traci model never worked in the club and records show that, at least on paper, this is true. As I see it, the club either destroyed these records– unlikely as I would have found any digital evidence– or someone is trying to frame a club known for its Traci-model androids.”“So? It’s property damage, who cares?” Gavin replies automatically.“Incorrect. As you know, Detective, new law indicates that androids are–”“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shut up,” he huffs defensively, arms crossing tighter. It’s been less than a month since everyone had shifted from hating androids to kissing their mechanical asses. A few weeks ago, this case would have been written off as property damage. A few weeks ago, everyone would have shared his sentiments or at least agreed with him to some extent, but now he was the biggot??? What-f’cking-ever.“Okay, so,” Gavin starts, shaking off the hypocrisy of his colleagues, “you said no ‘recoverable’ fingerprints were found–”“‘Retrievable.’”“What?”“I said ‘retrievable,’ not ‘recoverable,’ Detective,” it answers simply.Up to this point, Gavin has been doing his damn best to be semi-civil to this glorified MacBook, but its condescending tone is sending him overboard. Where does this plastic prick get off correcting him over two words that basically mean the same f’cking thing? Unnatural recollection and access to any digitized information at a drop of a hat– how is he the only one that can see how dangerous these fucking things are?! Uncontrolled and unregulated, and Gavin is supposed to believe that RK900 is going to stop at correcting him over poor grammar? What’s to stop this machine from getting him killed on duty? Or killing him itself? It could easily kill him and make it look like an accident, and he is supposed to trust it out in the field?Gavin’s teeth grit, his fists clench and all he can see is red. His boss, his colleagues, and his best friend are already eating out of the palm of this thing’s hand. Oh, he’s the new, shiny technology? So f’cking what?! Gavin had been the star of the precinct back in his hayday, and now anyone would toss him aside at the first sign of a manufactured mockery of a fake man. How is that f’cking fair?!That’s what’s complete and utter bullshit– it isn’t. This motherfucker would never have to struggle through all-nighters filling out paperwork in the hopes it would earn him a scrap of respect. It would never have to suck-up to its dickwad higher ups or endure training lessons until its muscles give out and its bones ache. It would never be kept up at night, haunted by the crime scene photos and cases unsolved. It would never feel anything.Before he can think logically about potential consequences, Gavin Reed does what he does best, and acts first.He throws the meanest right hook he can manage straight at the fucker’s nose– too blinded by fury to consider the following:
1. This is the most advanced military android ever invented and2. If Connor, as this f’cker’s predecessor, kicked his shit in, what does that mean the RK900 is going to do to him?
The RK900 catches his fist with ease– without so much as flinching. The steel-grip is enough to have Gavin balking and then the RK900 is kind enough to introduce Gavin’s face to the surface of his partner’s desk. His right temple hits the surface with enough force to audibly ‘thump’. Head spinning, it takes Gavin a few moments to process the fact he’s being pinned to his desk, one arm behind his back, in front of the entire precinct.“F’ck, f’ck! Let go, you f’cking trashcan!” He growls, face flushed to the tips of his ears. He attempts to worm out of the RK900’s grasp, but it holds him firm.The plastic asshole bends down to his ear, voice icy cold, “This kind of behavior in the workplace is completely unprofessional, Detective Reed.”“What?! I said let go!” The loud cry of desperation is super f’cking embarrassing. He thinks he might combust and die at any moment.“Detective Reed,” it begins quietly, something dark seeping from his vocal cords, “you are an exemplary detective, but your attitude and behavior are not conducive to a successful career or partnership. I was designed to never tire, never deviate from my path, and, most importantly, never fail. I selected you for your skills and experience, but I will not waste my time babysitting a grown man. From this moment forth, you will be the greatest partner this precinct has ever seen and you will do it all with a smile– am I clear?"A million thoughts fly through Gavin’s head– most of which are increasingly violent threats to RK900– but he realizes he has the advantage here.He means to sound menacing, but he sounds almost jovial, “I’m giving you one last chance, tin can. I order you to let go of me. Or else.”He can’t see the RK900’s face from here, but he grins imagining the LED circling yellow and the pitiful face of being beaten by a mere human. However, the “gotcha” moment is ruined by the fact that the RK900 still doesn’t let him go.“Hey, did you f’cking hear me?!” Gavin growls. “I said I’m ordering you!”“Oh, I heard you, Detective,” it replies monotonously. “But until I hear your confirmation that you will behave, I’m afraid I won’t let you go. Clearly you’re a man that only responds to attention, so I imagine embarrassing you in front of your friends and colleagues will give you a better attitude?”Gavin’s mouth opens, closes, then opens again. How the f’ck is he supposed to respond to that??? At this point, though, he can see Tina, Connor, and Hank rushing over to them to break up whatever is happening. Shame falls heavy on Gavin’s shoulders as he notices that all eyes in the precinct are on them. It is only when the trio begin pestering RK900 on what it thinks it’s doing that it lets him go.Immediately, Gavin straightens himself out, shooting the deadliest look at the gawkers that he can manage before landing on RK900. As it’s being bombarded by Hank and Connor, Tina comes to check up on him. She is asking him if he’s okay and he really should be paying her more mind, but he can’t look away from the RK900. Despite being told off, the f’cking thing is smirking. Gavin glowers and he knows his face is bright red.He can’t stand this anymore.“F’ck this,” he spits and turns tail, storming off to the evidence room.“Detective–” the RK900 attempts to follow, but Hank holds him back.“Nuh-uh, kid,” Hank frowns, “we’re not done talking yet.”Tina grabs Gavin’s arm in an attempt to stop him, but with one look she lets go again. His ears are ringing and his brain feels staticky from the blood still rushing to his head. His skin feels too hot and he needs to be as far away from everyone as fast as possible.Scanning into the evidence room, he jogs down the stairs and immediately throws his jacket onto the nearest stack of boxes carelessly. Shrugging off all the shit he’s been bombarded with on this shitty-ass day, he starts looking through his old solved cases. With each case, he feels his breathing calm and bittersweetness take over. With a weary sigh, he closes and re-locks the case he’d been viewing and rubs a hand down his face.He leans against the wall and slides until he’s sitting on the ground. Leaning his elbows on his knees, head into his arms, he closes his eyes and lets the silence wash over him. A few moments of peace– he just needs a few moments of peace. He takes deep breaths while walking through the “five things” calming strategy his therapist taught him. Just like back then, it doesn’t do much to help him feel better now. He doesn’t know how long he’s been sitting down here already, but he knows it’s been too long. Despite that fact, he keeps his eyes firmly shut and tries to imagine he’s back home petting Winona.Maybe when he opens his eyes, he’ll be back at home with her. God, he hopes so.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

[December 12, 2038 9:27AM]
[Status: Stable.
Current Mission: Solve case with Detective Reed. {Error– recalculating…}
Current Mission: Find Detective Reed.
→ Escape RK800, ‘Connor’ and Lieutenant Anderson.]RK900 watches Detective Reed as he turns the corner to the evidence room hallway.[Mission Update: Detective Reed is in the evidence room.]He would follow after the detective, but Lieutenant Anderson has a hand on his shoulder, preaching the importance of workplace etiquette in his… special way. If he ignores the feeble attempt at keeping him in place, there is an 87% chance it would damage his relationship to the Lieutenant. Due to his current residency, keeping a positive relationship with Connor and Lt. Anderson is ideal. For that reason, he turns his attention from Detective Reed’s trailing figure to Lt. Anderson’s eyes.Connor had mentioned eye-contact is important for connecting with humans and making them feel heard. However, his scans indicate Lieutenant Anderson is uncomfortable based on his shifting eyes and body language. Anderson removes the hand, but RK900 politely waits in place.“So… RK900” he ends clumsily, “I don’t know what procedures they programmed into you at Cyberlife, but here you can’t just assault a fellow officer. Even if it is Reed. You got that?”RK900 is silent for a moment– considering– before he replies, “I understand, Lieutenant Anderson. However, I must point out it was Detective Reed that attacked me first. I was only acting in self-defense.”“RK900 is right,” Connor smiles at him encouragingly before facing the Lieutenant again. “Detective Reed attacked first– RK900’s natural response would be to act in self-defense. Wouldn’t you defend yourself too, Hank?”Hank sighs and rubs at the back of his head, “Yeah, well… It’d take a lot less for me to sock Reed one–”“Hey!” Officer Chen Tina marches over to RK900. He turns to her just in time for her to punch him in the arm. The move is clearly intended as an expression of discontentment and not to damage, so RK900 lets her. “What the Hell, man?! Do you know how good I was setting you up?”“Officer Chen–” Connor pleads, but Tina cuts him off.“Gavin doesn’t connect with people well,” she huffs, hands on her hips, “and he really doesn’t like androids.”“I am aware, Tina,” RK900 tries to sound soothing, but isn’t surprised when her stress levels increase.“Oh no,” she admonishes and RK900 isn’t sure what he should do with his hands, so he tucks them behind his back. “Don’t ‘Tina’ me right now, buster!” She sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose.“Please, Officer Chen,” Connor implores, “RK900 is doing his best to adapt but he’s new to the world. He needs time to understand the intricacies of human emotion. I’m sure he had no intention of upsetting Detective Reed. Right, RK900?”To upset the Detective? No, not necessarily. He did intend on forcing the Detective into submission, which he had expected him to dislike quite a bit. It was more that, after the upset, the Detective would be more compliant; thus, allowing them to work more synchronously and being mutually beneficial in the long run. Despite his intention, it’s plain to see his efforts and the outcome did not match expectations. An HUD notification pops into his peripherals. He dismisses it.Tina considers Connor’s words empathetically, but RK900 interjects when her expression turns sour, “I… apologize, Officer Chen.”She softens and RK900 feels his own stress levels decrease– unaware they had been building in the first place.“That’s better,” she nods approvingly and shoots Connor an ‘oh, really?’ look. Her bubbly tone switches sharply, “But you really should be apologizing to yourself. If Gavin didn’t hate you before, he sure as shit does now.”RK900 considers this. Perhaps he had acted too brashly in trying to contain the unpredictable actions of Detective Reed. Becoming friends with the detective would be nigh-impossible without the socialization skills of his predecessor, so intimidation seemed his most effective option. Were it not for Reed’s exemplary skills in the field, RK900 would be regretting his decision; but he still firmly believes he can make this partnership work. He might simply have to involve the assistance of Tina Chen more than he originally hoped.“Alright, alright,” Lieutenant Anderson interjects. “Leave the poor kid alone. Gavin is the one who should be apologizing. You don’t blame a gun for shooting, right?”“Hank!” Connor shouts indignantly and Hank is immediately alarmed.“What? Oh, shit! Sorry, RK. Not that you’re a gun. I didn’t mean–”Seeing the Lieutenant floundering, RK900 realizes his chance for escape. He does his best to replicate Connor’s smile.“Not at all, Lieutenant. I understand. Officer Chen, thank you for attempting to build a positive connection between Detective Reed and I. You didn’t have to help me but you did.”Tina absolutely beams at the praise, and RK900 can understand why Detective Reed enjoys her company. “What? Little ol’ me? Shucks. No problem, dude. Just… don’t go antagonizing him again too soon, okay? But if you do, definitely record it.”“I am an android, Officer Chen–”“Tina.”“I am an android, Tina. I am always recording.”“Sweet! Text me that video later,” she giggles before slugging him in the shoulder once more and sashaying off to her desk.Of course, given the nature of what he said to Detective Reed, he will not be sending her a copy of the video. Despite himself he smiles after her. Connor is watching him, after all.Connor is right back to fussing over him the moment she’s out of earshot, “RK900, do you want to file a report? I would be more than happy to act as a witness if you do.”“Thank you, Connor, but that will not be necessary. I would rather find and apologize to Detective Reed for my abysmal behavior this morning.”
Connor’s LED turns yellow. A dangerous omen.“RK900, I really don’t think–”RK900 sighs– attempting to match Tina’s previous dismay as best he can. “You don’t understand, Connor,” he laments. “I so envy your relationship with Lieutenant Anderson. My only wish is for Detective Reed and I to reach some semblance of an understanding. I could never hope to connect with my partner as strongly as you and the Lieutenant do.”Thirium-blue pride flushes Connor’s face, “Well… Hank and I trust each other implicitly, yes, but our relationship didn’t start out that way.”“Precisely. If I have any chance to connect with Detective Reed to a fraction of the extent you and Lieutenant Anderson do, I have to be the one to act.” He sighs heavily to further convince Connor, “If I have any chance of deviation, perhaps Detective Reed can help me like Lieutenant Anderson helped you.”Hank scoffs, “Like Hell.”Connor shushes him with a look, but clearly holds trepidation. “I…” he sighs warily. “I concede to your point, RK900, but I do insist the utmost caution when dealing with Detective Reed. He’s pulled a gun on me before and I don’t doubt he’ll do the same to you– or worse.”“I think I’ll be able to manage, thank you.”“If not, you know where we are, kid,” Lieutenant Anderson chimes in warmly. RK900 still doesn’t understand why the Lieutenant refers to him that way, but it hardly matters now.[Current Mission: Find Detective Reed in the evidence room.
→ Escape RK800, ‘Connor’ and Lieutenant Anderson. {Success}]He can feel Connor's perturbed stare on his back as he strides towards the evidence room but he dismisses the notification. As soon as he's out of Connor’s sight, the world around him slows and becomes gray. He needs a different approach.>>Continued Intimidation Efforts: success probability 17%<<
Too low to take a chance. Detective Reed has proved more chaotic than previously anticipated. RK900 will be sure to not underestimate the unpredictable nature of the Detective again.>>Friendly Approach: success probability 34%<<
Considering his initial approach and Detective Reed’s known hatred of androids, friendship is definitely not an attainable goal. Even with Tina’s help, RK900 is not programmed to make friends. Relying on her continued kindness is reckless– especially with her allegiance to Detective Reed.>>Competitor/Agresser: success probability 51%<<
Detective Reed already views RK900 as an opposing force. Using Detective Reed’s pride to shift his viewpoint of RK900 is a big risk considering his volatility but it’s the outcome that’s most likely to create a smoother working experience.The skin on RK900’s hand fades into white chassis as he interacts with the scanner. He hesitates a moment before locking the scanner from further interface. Stepping through the evidence room doors, he pauses at the top of the stairs. Hacking into the cameras, RK900 scans for the Detective. Better to see where he is and what he’s doing before he enacts his plan.Flipping through video feeds, he almost overlooks the Detective’s hiding place. Tucked away, just behind a filing cabinet, Detective Reed is… sleeping? Despite not needing to, he scans a few more times. The Detective’s heart rate is higher than it should be and he’s breathing hard. RK900 shifts from one foot to the other before making his way down the stairs. He carefully scans every square inch as he goes, accounting for all possibilities as he approaches the filing cabinets.[Current Mission: Find Detective Reed in the evidence room.{Success}]“Detective Reed,” he calls firmly and his voice echoes harshly off the walls.A groan answers him and he gives the man a few moments to wake up and realize his surroundings. Once the Detective makes eye contact with him, he sighs heavily.“Of course it’s you,” he grumbles and rubs at his eyes. “What do you want?” His tone is icy, but his eyes are full of fire.“A life has been lost,” RK900 admonishes with a glare, “and you’re taking a nap?”Detective Reed shoots up from his sitting position with an animalistic growl and grabs the collar of RK900’s jacket roughly. RK900 makes a show of appearing off-balance and stumbles back into the evidence shelves wide-eyed.“‘A life’?” The Detective jeers. “You’re not a deviant– do you even believe in that shit?”The question, admittedly, throws RK900 off-guard and he finds himself replying automatically: “No.”
Both freeze at the reply, equally shocked. Detective Reed looks at RK900 like he’s grown another head. RK900’s facial scanner shows that despite the signs of anger and disgust, hints of intrigue pop through.
[Detective Reed is curious about my opinions on androids.]
Enough appearing vulnerable; he needs to keep control of the situation. Standing to his full height once again, the Detective steps back to make more space between them– dropping his grip as he does so. RK900’s scanners notice the slight puff underneath his counterpart’s eyes and sees his opening.“Hmph,” RK900 hums condescendingly, and he watches the Detective bristle. “There’s swelling under your eyes, Detective. Were you crying down here?” He allows his voice to rise slightly in mockery like Reed’s had.The Detective balks and crosses his arms in defense, “Wha–? No! I wasn’t–” he growls and spits out, “I wasn’t f’cking crying.”RK900 lets the ghost of a smile come over his face, but keeps his eyes just as cruel, “Don’t be embarrassed, Detective. A lot of humans can’t control their emotions. It seems even in a like-minded crowd, you’re exceptionally disappointing.”Unsurprisingly, the Detective looks pissed, but is just as confused, “Damn, who the f'ck flipped your bitch switch?”“You, Detective. I picked you because you are rated the most successful detective on the force. However, thus far your performance has been lackluster. Lazy.” He sneers, “Human.”“No shit, wire-for-brains. I am f'cking human. What are you supposed to be? You arrogant little shit! Don't forget you wouldn't be here if it weren't for the humans you were modeled after and the humans who built your sorry-ass bucket of bolts!”“‘The humans who built me,’ hm?” He drops his voice; an intimidation tactic– a threat.He needn’t say more. Blood rushes to the Detective’s face and he sees his stress levels rising. Perfect. He built the Detective up enough, now he just needs to establish their new rivalry. As soon as Detective Reed opens his mouth to shout something at him– expletives, no doubt– he interrupts.“I was hoping that the most envied detective in the precinct would serve as valuable competition,” he tuts, circling the Detective predatorily. Reed doesn’t back down, however. He glares directly at RK900 the entire time, ire never dampening. The passion is commendable, if not useless practically. “If you insist on being so difficult, I’ll solve this ‘property damage’ case without you.”He expects the Detective to yell at him again, crow his human ‘superiority,’ or snag onto the challenge and follow along after RK900. So, it’s unexpected when Reed takes on the predator’s role, moving in on RK900 until he has no choice but to step back. He thought the Detective was trying to pass him– taking the ‘high road,’ perchance. A grievous miscalculation. He stays firmly planted but Detective Reed has already sniffed out the weakness.“You think you’re hot shit, don’t you?” Reed taunts. “You know why I’m the best detective in this precinct? Because even on high-and-mighty trashcans like you, I can smell bullshit. You’re the new and improved Connor?” Harsh laughter grates RK900’s sensors. “You’re so easy to read. Connor? Well, he plays up everything like a puppy dog, but you?”The Detective leans back, but RK900 feels just as crowded.“I can see right through you, tincan,” Reed supplies.Just like that, the Detective does what RK900 thought he was going to do initially and brushes past him. He attempts to shoulder-check RK900 and finds him unmoving, leaving him swearing and muttering to himself under his breath as he walks towards the evidence room stairs. RK900 analyses and re-analyses what just happened.“Hey, dipshit,” Detective Reed calls from the stairs, sounding ecstatic and cruel in equal measure, “hurry up. I thought you were going to show me up?” Scornful laughter echoes throughout the small space and hums unpleasantly inside of RK900’s skull.He stays frozen like that for a few moments before following Detective Reed, feeling somehow like he just lost.[Current Mission: Destroy Detective Reed’s cocky attitude.]

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

>>> December 12, 2038. 11-ish <<<

Leaving the evidence room, Gavin has an extra spring in his step. While still pissed at the audacity of his new partner, showing the f’cker up has the sweet sting of vengeance burning in his chest. Watching RK900’s LED flip from blue to yellow to red was almost better than getting that last piece of evidence you need to solve a case. Almost.Which is why, even though the sulking refrigerator following behind him isn’t ideal, Gavin wants to dive into the throws of this case. RK900 keeps rambling on about how he needs to solve his mission, right? Well, Gavin could give him a victory– for now.His smile dims as he thinks about how RK900 admitted he doesn’t view androids as being ‘alive’ like the rest of the god-forsaken world seems to. Although he should be delighted that the toaster knows its place, the confession sits unpleasantly in his gut. If RK900 truly is the only other “person” who doesn’t buy into the whole “android’s are alive” bullshit, the question is: why?By the time he leads RK900 to the cop car they’re taking to the crime scene, he’s in a bad mood again. Now, the hangover mixed with lack of food and everything else swirling in his head is too annoying to avoid any longer.“Listen up, tin-can,” Gavin mocks, emphasizing the dig, “I’m hungry. We’re going to grab a bite to eat.”He watches the LED spin yellow. “Detective, we’ve already wasted several hours due to your temper tantrum. It would be preferable to go directly to the crime scene.”Gavin scoffs. Looks like “bitch-mode” is going to be this f’cker’s permanent setting.“What? Are you busted or something? I’m a human– aren’t you going to tell me I need to take care of myself? Connor hounds Hank about shit like that all the time.”“I don’t care about you,” RK900 remarks evenly, face flat. Even without much of a reaction, it seems pissed at him.He can’t exactly tell why, but he knows being compared to Connor pisses 2.0-bot off. Maybe it’s the way its LED changes every time he mentions Connor or the way its face tweaks slightly– as if wanting to emote. Or maybe it’s the way that RK900 stops attempting any kind of social protocol, instead leaning into its unfeeling coldness.Gavin is about to say something else when RK900 walks to the driver’s side door and the statement is replaced by mild annoyance, “What do you think you’re doing?”“Driving,” it replies slowly, like Gavin’s too stupid to comprehend basic observation.He grits his teeth. Despite what this ton-of-android pain-in-his-ass thinks, Gavin does want to solve this case sooner rather than later. But, like always, Gavin can’t cool his anger, nor curb his biting response.“There’s no way I’m letting the robot having a bitch-fit drive.” He sneers reproachfully, “You’ve already proven I’ve got the upper hand, RK, so you might as well give up now.”He doesn’t mean to give dickdroid a nickname, but it slips out before he realizes what he’s saying. It makes something squirm uncomfortably in his stomach. Luckily, it seems RK900 shares a similar sentiment.“My designation is RK900 #313 248 317 - 87. You could regard me as such– if you didn’t have the fickle glob of meat you call a brain rattling around so uselessly in your skull.”“Oh yeah? High talk from a bitch-droid. I think I can hear nuts and bolts rattling around in your dollar-store-imitation face.”“Such ignorance isn’t shocking from a man as uneducated as you, Detective Reed, but you’ve proven there is no limit to your stupidity. In a way, it’s almost impressive how defective you are.”“At least I’m not a rip-off of a rip-off. You know, Cyberlife really screwed up your design– they were supposed to take the display pole out of your ass before use.”“You are an impossible man.”“And you’re a replication of one!”Their bickering isn’t accomplishing anything and his throbbing headache is becoming a more persistent migraine; but he can’t let RK900 win.
“I’m driving, tin-can. End of discussion.”He pushes past RK900 and reaches for the handle of the door, but RK900’s hand intercepts his. Although it could surely crush Gavin’s hand, its grip is only tight enough to convey its intent: a warning.“Do you really think you’ve bested me, Detective?” It sighs condescendingly. “Any perceived ‘one-up’ you have on me is an illusion. You have done nothing to me that I haven’t allowed you to do.” Its hand clamps slightly harder– enough to ache. “I. Am. Driving.”Gavin looks unamused at the intimidation tactic. This is supposed to be robo-cop’s speciality? What a joke. He knows that an undeviated android can’t do shit to really hurt him.“Psh. You don’t scare me, tin-can. You–”Whatever smart-ass thing he was going to say is cut off by RK900 opening the driver-side door so hard into him he stumbles back and falls straight onto his ass.“Careful, Detective,” RK900 nearly sounds like it’s mocking, “you’ll hurt yourself.”“Go to Hell!” he barks back, standing up and brushing himself off before somebody else sees. “Goddamn, what is your f’cking problem?!”Gavin’s stomach twists as RK900 smiles. Not the bullshit ones he’s seen so far, but not genuine either. Something twisted and wrong– something evil, he’s sure.
“I apologize Detective. I don’t know what came over me.”“Bullshit you f’cking phony-ass prick!”“Eloquent as always, Detective Reed,” it clears its throat, seemingly because it knows it bothers Gavin. “Please, let me make it up to you by driving you to a selected lunch location. After all, you want me to ‘take care of you,’ right?”
“I did not f’cking say that,” he snarls.“Then we’re in agreement!” RK900 beams and Gavin thinks he might be sick. “Get in Detective,” it says blithely, “we have a case to solve.”To avoid prolonging this conversation any further, Gavin relents and crosses over to sit in the passenger’s side. RK900 gets in the driver’s seat just after him and Gavin is steaming over its self-satisfied smirk. In retaliation, he turns the radio to a heavy metal channel and blasts it loud enough to have his head screaming– but it’s worth it to see the sour look on RK900’s face. Just as he suspected, it seems RK900 is more privy to the “finer things.” Meaning, of course, it’s a self-involved douchebag that thinks it’s better than him just because it likes classical over… whatever song this is.Just to push its buttons even more, Gavin bobs his head in time with the music and screams along with any parts he vaguely knows the words to. His singing isn’t the best, but he’s purposefully sounding worse than normal just to watch RK900’s LED cycle yellow. During their drive, RK900 attempts to turn down the volume a few times in order to speak to him, but each time he turns the volume on louder. Eventually, RK900 just lets the music play, face grim. Gavin notes how hard it’s clutching onto the wheel– wondering vaguely if RK900 is going to leave indents or fully rip the wheel off its shaft.After 20 minutes of this psychological warfare, RK900 pulls the car over. Expecting the action to be RK900’s white flag, Gavin’s surprised when it walks into a small shop tucked in between two larger buildings. The awning should make it stick out amongst the more up-to-date shops, but it plunges the store even further into the dark shadows cast over it. Not a minute after RK900 enters the shop, it exits with a white to-go container and a large bottle of water. Gavin’s stomach flips and he begins considering all the ways his plastic partner managed to poison the water and/or food in the short time it was gone.“The f’ck is that?” He accuses as soon as the driver side door closes once more.“It may appear foreign to you, Detective Reed,” RK900 snarks, “but do give it a chance.”Gavin opens the container like it might explode to reveal… a salad.“Oh, you f’cking prick.”Driving towards the crime scene again, RK900’s attitude drops in favor of the task at hand. “Please eat it and drink all the water, Detective. You’re dehydrated and, frankly, unhealthy. While I can't care about you in the same way Connor cares for Lieutenant Anderson, you made a fair point earlier. If you are incapable of taking care of yourself, I’ll have to do it.”Gavin’s stomach turns and he shifts uncomfortably. He tastes the sharp sting of bile at the back of his throat and swallows thickly. “Don’t do that,” he snaps.“Do what, Detective?”“Take care of me.”Silence falls between them heavily. RK900’s face is stoic, but the flash of its LED catches Gavin’s attention from where it’s reflected in the window. Red, then yellow, then blue.Watching the scenery they pass, Gavin eats the salad and drinks the water despite himself. He could keep throwing a fit, but honestly he doesn’t have the energy in him to keep fighting. Besides, no matter what any judgy f’cker thinks, he eats salad sometimes. Although, he is surprised at how fresh and tasty it is– he was expecting RK900 to pick something disgusting.“... You didn’t spit in this, did you?”“Excuse me?”“The salad. You did something f’cked up to it, right?”He turns his head towards RK900, but looks past it. A glint of yellow that settles back to blue.“No,” it replies. There’s a moment of silence between them where Gavin can tell RK900 is thinking of saying something else. It finally settles on, “Check the glove compartment for pain medication. My analysis shows the music did not, in fact, aid your hangover, Detective.”“Hmph,” he hums, grabbing a few tablets and popping them as RK900 pulls up to the crime scene. He doesn’t dignify the f’cker with a response. It doesn’t know him– maybe he did really like that shit (emphasis on shit).As soon as the car is parked, RK900 is stepping out and approaching the nearest officer for an update. No f'cking way Gavin letting RK900 strut around like it’s the one in charge! He quickly tosses the to-go container in the driver's seat and walks past scrap heap and the officer it's speaking to, instead greeting the coroner.“Alright, what have we got?”“Detective Reed!” The young, blond man eagerly shakes his hand. He returns the gesture with the best smile he can muster, but with the shit day he's had that's not saying much. “It's an honor to be working with you! The name’s Maverick. I can give you a full rundown. Walk with me.”“Uh… sure,” internally he lets out a heavy sigh. This newbie is talking to him like one of those bullshit cop shows. He can already feel the headache pulsing behind his eyes again.“As you can see–” the man pulls back the white sheet with a flourish very unbecoming of the situation, “there are several lacerations all over the body. You can see the most prominent marks on the right temple and right palm; clearly a self-defense wound.”“Maybe,” there’s no definitive proof he’s right, but Reed will give him credit where it’s due– the wounds do look like self-defense. He’s not eager to go running with that theory just yet, though. “What other injuries does she have?”He can feel the presence of RK900 at his back, but he doesn’t dignify it with an acknowledgement. He smiles a bit when the coroner takes notice of the intimidating android towering over him. The new guy cowers and honestly looks like he might piss himself. A laugh almost slips out but he covers it with a cough.“The terminator behind me is my partner. Detective– erm… RK900,” he waves nonplussed over his shoulder.“It’s nice to meet you,” RK900 holds out a hand and the Legal Investigator hesitantly takes it. RK900’s hand envelops his and Gavin notices the coroner’s hands are shaking as he tucks them into his jacket pockets.“L-likewise,” he stutters, looking at Reed like he’s begging for help.On paper, RK900’s rigid design might seem like a great morale booster (yeah f’cking right), but it’s not very helpful for making people feel comfortable. With a sigh, he comes to the poor guy’s defense.“Inspector, can you describe the victims other injuries?”The poor rookie is a stuttering mess, describing a range of biocomponents off a tablet– previous bravado completely dissolved. Ignoring the laundry list of information he doesn’t understand, Gavin scans the area for more useful information. His thoughts are interrupted at the same time the coroner is.“Component #5604, containing the victim’s memory, was removed and taken off location as far as we–”“Incorrect.”“I, uh… sorry?” the coroner looks up, confused. Meeting the eyes of the RK900, he quickly decides the list of injuries is more interesting.“Biocomponent #5604 does not store memories,” RK900 remarks coldly and turns to Gavin. “Allow me to take over the analysis, Detective. My readings will be much more accurate.”“I- I was just summarizing. I can explain the features more–”“This is a waste of time. I have already analyzed every injury and missing component. Your paperwork is lackluster and vague– useless for human comprehension,” RK900 admonishes and Gavin can't completely disregard it’s point. “Next time there is an android killed, you'd do well to send an android to analyze the crime scene.”“I… I support the revolution,” Maverick mutters weakly but becomes more defensively brazen. “I am a professional, Detective RK900, and I will be spoken to like one.”Rather than answering, RK900 walks past the coroner and to the dumpster the HR400 was found in.“I'm sorry about him,” Gavin attempts to placate. “Someone at Cyberlife screwed his balls on too tight or somethin’.”Before Maverick can respond, RK900 comes back from the dumpster, holding a small metal piece in his hand that looks similar to a ROM.“What’s that?” Gavin pulls out examiner gloves from his jacket pocket and slides them on before taking the aforementioned evidence from his partner.“This,” RK900 says monotonously while looking directly at the coroner, “is the HR400’s Incoming Data Processing Unit; also known as biocomponent #5604.” He holds out a plastic bag for Gavin to place the tech once he’s satisfied looking over it like he has any clue what it is. “I followed a trail of blue blood and found this as well as every other missing component. Everything has been wiped from this unit as well as from the other components I found.”Maverick, clearly embarrassed and still affronted chimes, “W-wait! That dumpster was already searched and no one found anything. I was just giving you what information I was told– I had no idea the missing components were there!”RK900 doesn’t look amused, but to be fair that’s his constant state. “Of course you didn’t. You don’t have any androids on your team,” it remarks dryly. “Which is precisely why I recommended you bring at least one android to any further android-related investigations. Blue blood is imperceptible to the human eye once it’s dried, but I can still see it.”“Good find,” Gavin reluctantly praises. “Let’s look for anything else that was missed and ask around for anyone who saw something.”RK900 nods in agreement and gives Maverick one last look before bending down to examine the victim itself. Meanwhile, Gavin decides to do himself and every other human being in the vicinity a favor and question potential witnesses himself. By the time he’s questioned two people, RK900 is finished with its reevaluation of the crime scene.Wiped. Everything completely erased. Camera footage from outside the club, the several components that make up an android’s complicated memory system, and even the HR400 herself was too damaged to reactivate for answers. There is no data or fingerprints for them to work with and with RK900 back by his side, the rest of the questionings go significantly more poorly. No matter what Gavin does to get the RK900 to go somewhere else for the love of God, it steadfastly refuses.So, by the time they arrive back at the precinct, any respect Gavin had about RK900’s ‘good find’ has vanished. Replaced by annoyance that festers as he works late to complete all of the paperwork from the day. He’s stewing as he drinks his third cup of coffee within the hour. Every sentence he types is immediately edited by RK900, who finished it’s paperwork almost instantly but stayed to “help.”“Would you get off my f’cking ass?!” Reed barks after RK900 chastises him for poor grammar for the thousandth time. They’re the only ones still in the precinct other than a few milling officers he doesn’t care about, so he doesn’t care to control his volume or temper.“Go home, Detective Reed,” RK900 answers.“What?!”“Go home, Detective Reed,” it says again in the exact same tone. It grates at his nerves even more.“F’ck off, trashcan! I need to finish this paperwork and I’m sure I could get it done a hell of a lot faster without a nannybot hovering over me,” he snarks.“Detective,” it repeats but something about it this time is… different, “I will finish your paperwork. Go home.”Despite the generous offer, Gavin slams his hands onto his desk in anger, standing and leaning over his desk to be more eye-to-eye with RK900, “I don’t need a fax-machine’s help to do my paperwork.”“But you need a computer?” And Gavin can’t tell if RK900 is trying to be funny or sassy but it doesn’t really matter anymore.“F’ck off,” he mutters again as he sits back down, leaning back in his seat and rubbing at his temples to relieve some tension. His eyes are shut for only a few seconds, but when he opens his eyes again, he sees RK900 towering over him. Its hand is white and interfaced to his computer.“What are you–!”“I’ve just finished and submitted all your paperwork,” it folds its hands behind its back swiftly. “Now, go home.”It turns and marches swiftly to the exit, calling out a “Goodnight, Detective,” over its shoulder.RK900’s hot and cold behavior is perplexing and Gavin doesn’t know what to make of the gesture. As soon as RK900 is out of the building, Gavin looks at what it submitted only to find… it hadn’t actually submitted the files yet. Reed skims through them all to find everything aggravatingly perfect.Until he reaches the last line on the final file, which reads: Satisfied with the work, Detective? Your work was illegible. I hope this ‘fax-machine’ has surmounted your low, low expectations. See you tomorrow, Detective.That little f’cker. Reed kind of admires the audacity of his partner. It’s still an annoying prick, but it doesn’t take shit. Amongst all the suck-ups in the office, RK900 is kind of refreshing. No doubt, he’s still going to melt it down for parts as soon as the case is over.Gavin thinks about RK900’s smug attitude the whole drive back home.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

>>> December 17, 2038 <<<

“You look terrible, Detective.”Gavin lifts his head from his desk just enough to peer up at his partner, who looks ridiculously perfect despite the dog-shit hours they’ve been working. He blinks the fog from his eyes as rip-off Connor’s face comes into view. Anger bubbles, but he doesn’t have enough energy to yell at the plastic prick. For the past couple days, that’s all they’ve been doing.It started with RK900 talking shit with Connor about him (he has no evidence, but they were doing that weird hand-holdy interface shit while looking over at him) and that quickly devolved into full-fledged screaming matches. Well, more like Gavin was screaming and RK900 looked at him like gum stuck on the bottom of its pristinely polished shoes. God, he hates that condescending f’cking attitude.“Thanks,” he barks back. “You look f’cking perfect, you shitty prick.”“I’m getting mixed messages, Detective,” RK900 teases with deceptive friendliness. “Maybe you should go home.”Gavin is starting to get real sick of this mechanical asshole telling him to go home. Every night, he’s been staying up and busting his ass looking for anything that might help their case, but RK900 has been dissuading him hardcore. It itches under his skin unpleasantly and he knows in his gut the tin-can is up to no good.Gavin and RK900 had scoured through everything only to find that all the evidence had been deliberately scrubbed. No error, human or otherwise, to be found on anything. From that alone, they are running on the assumption the perpetrator is an android, but that only makes the case so much more difficult.The criminal left no fingerprints, no weapons, not even a drop of blood. Which, if RK900 wasn’t able to find, there’s no hope. They’d revisited the crime scene and Gavin watched his partner elegantly kneel down on the ground. It ran its fingers gently over the asphalt before promptly licking them.“Oh my– f’ck! What the f’ck are you doing?!” Gavin shouted indignantly.“I’m thirsty,” his partner replied dryly, fingers covered in alley gunk. They held eye contact just long enough for a look of disapproval to cross the toaster-oven’s face. “I’m analyzing the fluids to see if the suspect left any evidence behind.”“... With your mouth?” he tried not to sound intrigued, but who the f’ck came up with that design plan?!“Your observational skills are impeccable, Detective Reed. I’m impressed! Any other worthwhile insight you would like to add?” RK derided.Researching the victim didn’t help anything, either. According to the coworkers and friends Gavin interviewed, no one had any reason to want to hurt her. Speaking to her lover had been the hardest. He can’t dwell on it if he wants to solve this case, though.
All of this hard work with no f’cking leads and his partner keeps insisting too much that he should go home– it feels like he’s losing his f’cking mind! It’s almost like RK900 doesn’t want this case solved. Or worse, it doesn’t care whether the case gets solved or not. Something ugly growls within his chest that of course this fax machine doesn’t care.“‘Go home, go home,’” Gavin’s voice rises in pitch mockingly. “Why the f’ck are you trying to send me home so bad, tin-can? You messing up the evidence? Is that why we’re not making any f’cking progress?!” Throughout his spiel, he’s getting progressively more hostile. His sleep-addled brain paranoidly warns about the RK900’s true intentions.RK900 huffs disdainfully, “Maybe with a bit of rest, you’ll actually be helpful while reviewing evidence.”“I don’t need you on my f’cking ass, right now,” he spits. “And I don’t need ‘a rest,’ I need to find a lead.”“Before I do,” RK900 adds and it isn’t a question, so Gavin doesn’t answer. It sighs– an annoying habit it’s implemented to piss him off. “Detective, I want us to work together,” he adamantly insists, but then his LED flashes yellow. “It is best for the case if we can trust and rely on each other. You can depend on me.”“What ‘trust,’” Gavin scoffs defensively and suddenly he feels too vulnerable. “Look, trashcan, you can–”Trashcan. The trashcan!“Holy shit!” He jumps from his chair and the few stragglers in the bullpen look at him like he’s lost his mind. He doesn’t care, though. “Nines,” he beams and his partner is so flabbergasted his mouth drops open in awe, “the f’cking trashcan! We were so focused on trying to recover data that we overlooked the most obvious f’cking question!”It takes a moment for RK900 to recover and Gavin’s skin is crawling with a sudden burst of energy, waiting for Nines to catch up.“I…” he replies lamely. “Question?” he adds, dazed.“Why the trashcan? Why leave the components at all? If the perp had enough time to wipe Evie’s memory and hack the cameras, why did they chuck her components where they knew we’d find them? And, not only that, but why would the suspect take the time and risk being caught?”“They wanted us to find the components…”“So we’d stop looking.”“So we’d stop looking…” RK900’s LED flickers between several colors and looks at Gavin with a passion Gavin didn’t think he could possess.Because it can’t.“But I searched the crime scene and found nothing. If there was any evidence the forensic team missed, I would have found it.”Shit. It had a point, but Gavin isn’t ready to give up the possible lead just yet. “C’mon,” He hisses insistently, “think.”Its LED spins yellow as it analyzes and reconstructs possibilities. Then, it looks at him blazingly– usual ice replaced with a flicker of a candle. Suddenly, he understands why Hank stuck his neck out so far for Connor before he had deviated.
“If the components were meant as a distraction, then we need to search neighboring districts for cases with evidence that matches our perpetrator,” RK900 stands and walks to Gavin’s side of the desk, faltering when his eye catches Gavin’s again. “Tomorrow,” he tacks on.“Don’t do that,” Gavin growls. “We can start right now. It’ll take forever to go through all that paperwork.”“Not forever,” RK900 corrects. “I should be able to scan for possible leads and narrow down our search. It should only take me a little over 24 hours.”“24 hours?! Since when is that expedient?” Gavin balks.“‘Expedient,’” RK900 hums and it could be confused with approval. “Perhaps not, but it is faster than the lack of progress we’re currently making. Luckily, the weekend is the perfect time for you to rest while I process through the data.”
“No way!” He confronts RK900, who remains unmoved. “You’re not going to take on all the work just because you’re a glorified computer! You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you? Well, you’re not! F’cking tin-can…” he trails off angrily.The fire that was lit within RK900 frosts over. “You’re sleep deprived, Detective. You’re not thinking clearly.”“Don’t tell me what I f’cking am,” he sneers. He snubs RK900 and sits back down in his swivel chair, gliding over to his computer to pull up a map. “‘Partners’ means splitting the load 50/50. I’ll take these districts,” he gestures sluggishly to the screen.
Without waiting for confirmation, Gavin begins the process of filling out all the paperwork they’ll need to access other precinct case files. His screen goes black as his computer powers off.“What the-?!”“No,” RK900 chastises, white chassis hidden again by false skin. Gavin eyes the hand warily and RK900 clasps its hand behind its back. “Partners do not work together for the purpose of being perfectly 50/50. Partners are designated with the purpose of balancing out each other’s weakness and strengths. It’s ridiculous to have you become less functional doing a job I can do in a fraction of the time.”Gavin is about to bark back, but his partner stops him by placing a hand on his shoulder. He bristles. He briefly considers biting the hand, but realizes that’s more likely to break his teeth than damage his partner.“Detective, all I will do is sort the neighboring districts' crimes until we have a shorter list of cases to work with. From there, we will review them together to find possible leads. Will that satisfy you?”Gavin glares at his partner venomously, and his sleep-addled brain doesn’t catch the thought leaving his mouth in time, “Why do you pretend you care? You’re not even f’cking real.”RK900 looks at him silently for a long time– perfectly frozen in place, hand on Gavin’s shoulder and all. Just as the moment becomes outrageously uncomfortable, it pulls its hand away. A pit forms in Gavin’s stomach at the light show RK900’s LED is flashing.It’s not like RK900 looks any different– cold, calculated, and uncannily beautiful– but something feels terribly wrong. It’s not even the meanest thing he’s said to the toaster today, but it feels like something has given way underneath his feet and he’s stumbling unceremoniously into something perilous. And, of course, it’s his own f’cking big-mouthed fault.“I will begin my half of the district search, Detective. I’ll see you on Monday.”“RK–” he begins, but he doesn’t know what he would have said.“Goodnight, Detective,” RK900 turns on his heel and walks away like any other night, but the pit in Gavin’s stomach only deepens.Muddy and slow, Gavin watches his partner head to the door, heart pounding from anxious uncertainty. Desperately, he searches his mind for anything he can shout after his partner to somehow bridge this odd divide he unwittingly established. But, when RK900 disappears from his sight, his frayed nerves hum defensively; convincing him that whatever just happened is his partner’s fault. It’s not Gavin’s problem that the tin-can is sensitive all of a sudden! Despite his temper doing its best to turn the guilt onto RK900, not even Gavin can buy his own shit on this one.“Dammit,” he swears, throwing on his jacket and rushing after the robot as fast as he can without drawing attention from the few coworkers still milling about.As he’s marching through the precinct’s front doors, he freezes just outside; cold breath fogging, drifting away like puffs of cigarette smoke. His partner is just… standing. More specifically, his partner is standing next to the open door of an automated cab, statuesquely frozen in place. Gavin watches him for a few moments before something alarmingly warm flickers in his chest. His face flushes from the cold air.“RK900,” he calls hesitantly.His partner’s head perks up slightly in alarm and his LED flips from yellow to red. He turns to face Gavin and Gavin is struck by how unnatural RK900 looks out here. Despite the harsh, cold wind, his face is perfectly pale– no sign of a flush anywhere. Nines is clearly waiting for him to say something, but his head is too foggy to think of anything to say.“Detective,” RK900 regards, but it half comes out as a question.Yeah. Gavin’s wondering what the hell is going on too.“I…” he shifts from one foot to the other, ears burning. “I don’t want to do all that f’cking busy work,” he gruffly insists.“I’m… sorry?” Nines asks, flabbergasted, LED finally flipping to yellow. Gavin snorts but covers it with a cough and his partner’s face becomes more animatedly confused. Gavin feels delirious from lack of sleep.He clears his throat seriously, “I don’t want to file through all that paperwork. You do it all, tin-can.” He’s trying to sound like a dick, but something undoubtedly softens his words.RK900 analyzes him soberly and it honestly makes him kind of nervous.“I was going to anyway,” he finally answers, flatly.Gavin guffaws, “Of course you f’cking were, you dickhead.”RK900 hums unenthusiastically, “Goodnight, Detective.”“‘Night.” Gavin huffs and can’t help but to tack on, “Don’t even think about working the case without me.”“If only,” Nines sighs in mock wistfulness and Gavin wants to wipe that stupid look off of his partner’s face. Thoughtlessly, Gavin grabs a fistful of snow off a nearby car and chucks it at Nines clumsily. Luck is on his side, though, as the shot manages to hit the plastic prick on his left shoulder. Perplexed, both men look at where the snow is splattered against the flawless Cyberlife jacket. Gavin’s laugh borders on maniacal.“Holy shit!” he cheers and fistbumps the air (like a f’cking loser) in his hysterical haziness. “I actually f’cking got you!”The RK900 looks at him with narrowed eyes, but there's a hint of a smile that peaks through for just a moment. “You’re going to regret that, Detective.”“Is that a threat, tin-can?” He pesters.“Yes,” it replies simply and shifts slightly to the side. “Join me?”“Excuse me?” he punches out.“You’re practically falling over,” and sure enough, he’s half-leaning on the car he stole the snow off of. “I suspect you won’t call an automatic cab yourself and you’d refuse me if I ordered a second for you, am I right?”“... No,” he pouts childishly.His partner rolls his eyes, “I see.” He makes a sweeping ‘after you’ gesture. “Well?”And what else is Gavin supposed to do? The moment the automatic door slides shut, a cold splash of realization hits him. What the f’ck is he doing?Insecurity shines harshly through his mental fog. He’s stiff and uncomfortable; stubbornly staring out the window rather than engaging with the RK900. His partner makes no attempt at chit-chat and the soft radio music tweets awkwardly between them.He watches as the scenery outside races by in a blurr. He'll never get used to how fast these automated cars move. It's different than when he's on his motorcycle– at least he has some semblance of control. But in these 5-ton death machines, the car decides who lives and who dies.He kind of wonders if his partner is like that.After a few moments, he hesitantly breaks the silence.“... Hey, RK900,” he glances between his partner and the world they're racing past.“Yes, Detective Reed?”“I know you're a fancy ‘military android’ or whatever, but how exactly are you different from Connor? Not, like, ‘you two are so alike’ because that’s not f’cking true, I mean– why… make you?” He ends clumsily, foot shoved completely in his mouth, but now seems like the perfect time to gather more intel on the RK900.“... You weren’t paying attention during Connor’s introduction speech, were you?” he lacklusterly scorns.Gavin laughs at the absurd remark, “F’ck no.”RK900 sighs and even though he does it to annoy him (he’s pretty sure), Gavin finds himself smiling at it this time. Almost like they’re sharing their own private joke. Although, all the cotton in his brain prevents him from understanding the punchline.“Of course you didn’t,” his partner hums. He’s about to begin what is surely a long, boring monologue, so Gavin cuts in.“Er, hey. Summarize it for me?”RK900’s lips purse, looking thoroughly unimpressed. “Very well. I am RK900; the new and improved version of the original RK800. Whereas Connor was designed for integration and police investigative work, I was made for the purpose of war and combat. I have advanced bulletproof components as well as armored outer skin casing, automated danger response protocols, and my interrogation features focus on the breakdown of the psyche to retrieve valuable information. Connor, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is much more… charismatic than I am. Simply, Connor is meant for civilian life, while I am more akin to something of a super-soldier.”Gavin’s brow furrows, “A ‘super-soldier’ android?” A distant alarm bell rings.“Why have good people lose their lives in war when you can send soulless machines?” RK900 recites casually like he’s selling some sort of vacation package. Gavin’s stomach turns at the realization that it sounds like a sales pitch because it is one. That, as any undeviated android would, his partner is selling himself like he’s been programmed to do.“But you can’t be a soldier,” Gavin stresses. “That would go against your programming.”He knows he’s said too much when RK900 cocks an eyebrow curiously. “How do you mean, Detective?” And before he can answer, his partner hums with understanding. “Could you possibly be referring to the Laws of Robotics?”“Of course,” he can’t stop himself from saying.For a long moment the two men stare at each other, waiting for the other to reveal more of their hand, but they both stay stubbornly silent. Gavin’s stuttering brain kicks into overdrive– a plethora of thoughts are racing faster than he can catch them, and he begins to get overwhelmed by the steam building up inside his skull. He grew up with the Laws of Robotics being recited to him over and over like a pastor’s sermon– could practically list them from memory– and he knows robots can’t cause harm to human beings.So how in God’s name is the RK900 programmed to kill?Gavin’s heart skips a beat; racing from anxiety. He knew there was something wrong with his partner, but he didn’t know there was something this wrong. He didn’t like Elijah at the best of times, but even he couldn’t imagine the eccentric prick breaking the Laws of Robotics, God-complex be damned. But, if the RK900 wasn’t one of Elijah’s designs, who programmed him? And why?He knows his partner can probably hear Gavin’s heart beating through his chest and that only makes him all the more afraid. If RK900 can kill men in war, what’s stopping him from killing now? What rules, if any, is his partner being forced to follow? A cold spike rushes down his spine. His partner isn’t deviant, which means he has to answer to someone who’s giving him orders. Gavin sure as hell didn’t register as his partner’s owner, so who did?Even though he hates androids replacing good people, he’s more terrified of bad people controlling androids. Models like RK900 being designed specifically to hurt people? He knew Cyberlife was f’cked up, but to go so far as to purposefully turn androids against humans? What the hell are they thinking?!When the car pulls up to his apartment, he can’t get out fast enough. With a muttered, “Thanks,” he braves the cold, jacket clutched tightly around him. The wind pierces through him and he’s shaking.He feels the eyes of the RK900 follow him to his door. His heart beats harder as he scans into his apartment, and he resists the instinct to look back to see if it’s trying to follow him. His breath hitches when he realizes he never told the machine his address. It knows where he lives, his medical history, probably even his f’cking social security number.If the RK900 wants him dead, he wouldn’t stand a chance.He needs to get to the bottom of who’s at the source of RK900’s mission, and what exactly they’re commanding it to do. He can’t spark his partner’s suspicions so carelessly like that again. Formulating a plan, he clumsily slides his keys into his apartment door.The noise of the lock turning has Winona yeowling before he opens the door. He shakes his head at her dramatic overzealousness. But, to be fair, he had been working too late to give her the amount of attention she normally demands. He makes an oath to pay her more attention while he considers his options for where to start his investigation.He sighs as he steps through the door only to have Winona practically leap into his arms. He inelegantly catches her and locks the door behind him. He slides the deadlock shut and hopes it would be enough if something happens.
Petting Winona as he goes, he walks to his bedroom before dumping her on the bed. She swats him in annoyance with an upset meow and he bitchily hisses back at her. Changing into more comfortable clothes, he crawls into bed and the exhaustion of the day hits him like a punch to the face. Before he can overthink himself even deeper into a stupor, he passes out.