Created Equally
Author: Cheryl W.
Disclaimer: I do not own Almost Human or Star Trek or any rights to the television show or movie, nor am I making any profit from this story.
Summary: When Kirk, an old friend of Kennex's comes back into town for a deadly robbery case, Dorian has his hands full trying to keep Kennex in one piece and struggling to accept that all friends, synthetic soul or real, are not created equally. No Slash.
Author's Note: This story is set wholly in the Almost Human world and the only Star Trek character making an appearance will be Jim Kirk, who is a cop and Kennex's best friend since boyhood. I'm not sure I have Kirk down ok but I hope you give me some leeway since I've uprooted him from the universe we know him from and dropped him into this one. And he and Dorian get along as well as he and the 2009 movie Spock did in the beginning…like… not at all.
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Chapter 1: Glory Days
ANANAHAHAHAHAHAH
It takes Dorian a few steps to realize John Kennex is no longer at his side, has stopped, leaving him to navigate down the stairs of the squad room solo. Turning back to his partner, the synthetic questioned with concern, "John what's…" but cut off as he noted where John's eyes were drawn, or more specifically, to whom John's eyes were drawn to. Namely to a blond haired blue eyed man, near John's age and athletic build, who was sitting in John's chair, laughing and flirting with Detective Valerie Stahl.
Tensing, fearing the man represented a threat to his partner, Dorian stepped instinctively in front of Kennex, but the next moment, John passed him on the stairs and made a beeline for the stranger in their midst.
Smiling widely, John merrily warned Stahl, "Whatever he's telling you, it's a lie," but his eyes weren't on the beautiful detective but fixed on their visitor.
Turning at the sound of John's voice, the blond haired man broke into a joyous smile and he crossed the room to engulf John into a robust hug. Pulling back but keeping a hand on John's shoulder, the visitor taunted Kennex, "I only lied to make you sound better." To Stahl, the man drawled with charm, "But really he's not even a close second to me. One night on the town with me and you'll forget Kennex's first name."
"If she lowers her standards and goes out with you, she'll wish she could forget a lot more than my name," John volleyed back, enjoyed his friend's theatrical gesture of putting his hand to his heart as if in pain.
"You mortally wound me, Kennex!"
Taking that as her opening to leave, Stahl teased, "I'll leave you two alone so you can revel in your bromance," winking at John as she returned to her desk.
By this time, Dorian had gained John's side and searched face rec to determine John's friend was James T. Kirk, a detective from Philadelphia who had once been a member of their precinct. A quick perusal of his record noted both accolades and reprimands.
With Stahl's departure, the friends shut out the rest of the squad room occupants and sized each other up after their months apart. Putting a companionable hand to John's face, Kirk happily observed, "Buddy, you look great." But a moment later, a worried crease marred his forehead as he grilled, "How's the leg? Your lungs working like they're supposed to?"
With Detective Kirk's question, Dorian immediately scanned John, paid close attention to his lung functions, realized that the inconsistencies he had detected before now for what they were..a reconstruction, probably from the wounds John had suffered in the Insyndicate raid. A wound this Kirk knew about and was seemingly worried about its effect on John.
John responded to Kirk's inquiry with a smirk. "My patched up lungs are better than yours after all the cigarettes you stole and smoked when we were kids."
"Half of which you puffed on, if I remember right…and I do," Kirk shot back with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.
John didn't dispute the man's accusation, instead patted the man on the chest. "Great to see you, Jim. So, is this you finally coming to visit me or did a case bring you back to town?"
"Both. What can I say? I'm an overachiever." Kirk turned as he sensed someone was approaching, daring to encroach on their "bromance" as Stahl had called it. But he gave another show of his thousand watt smile as Captain Sandra Maldonado joined them.
"Don't tell me I have to separate you two already," she greeted, a ready smile turning up her lips.
"Here's the only superior officers I've ever wanted to make a pass at. Sandra, you're a sight for sore eyes." Then Kirk gave her a light, quick hug.
Dorian, still waiting to be introduced…or even noticed, decided to take things into his own hands since John was too enthralled with his friend's mere presence. Offering his hand to Detective Kirk, he said, "Hello, I'm Dorian."
Though Kirk didn't take his hand, he did smile. "The relic synthetic. I heard you had the misfortune to be teamed with Kennex."
Internally wincing at not only the "relic" but the "synthetic" label, Dorian didn't get a chance to reply before John spoke.
"Misfortune?! He's thanking his lucky stars every day that he gets to work with someone of my caliber…just like you're so grateful that I took pity on your sorry butt and befriended you," John joked.
"Wait, who befriended who?" Kirk amicably challenged as he dropped his arm over Kennex's shoulder and begin to steer his friend up the stairs and out of the squad room.
Torn between following John and staying in the squad room, Dorian looked to the Captain for some guidance.
Her tone amused instead of reprimanding for John's sudden departure, the Captain suggested, "We won't see those two again until morning. You might as well confer with Detective Kirk's MX on the case so at least two members of this joint task force will be working this afternoon."
"Joint task force? So he is here for a case, one which John and I will be working on with him?" Dorian asked, though he was quite capable of deductive reasoning.
"That's correct. The Dynamic Duo is back in action….I hate to see how many reprimands they wrack up this time." Again there was that lilt of amusement instead of reprimand in the Captain's words before she headed back to her office.
"Dynamic Duo," Dorian quietly repeated, didn't know why the label managed to increase the unfamiliar emotion that began stirring in him the second John and Kirk reunited so amicably. And though his research told him what he was feeling was labeled 'jealousy', he denied it. He wasn't jealous of the affectionate and strong friendship John had with the other detective. So what if John didn't see him as a friend, if he only spent time with him on work days, when he was required to. 'I wasn't designed to be anyone's friend. I was designed to be their partner, to protect my human partner.'
For the first time since he had been reawakened, Dorian felt unsure of himself, of his purpose. Being a cop had always exceeded his expectations for his life … but now, being a friend, being John's friend like Kirk was, that was something he allowed himself to want. 'You can feel and you can even want friendship, but none of that changes the fact that you're still just a machine. You can't forget that…and John never will.'
Because John was out there with his friend, doing all the things a synthetic couldn't do: drinking, eating, and remembering the good times they shared all their lives because their memories were their own, John and Kirk's. Their memories weren't wiped away at someone's whim, weren't reset because of distrust.
The thought of his time of being partnered with John someday being wiped from his memory made Dorian's circuits ache with pain. Suddenly, he understood John's decision to seek out a recollectionist, to risk his own life to snatch back memories that were elusive to him, memories that were his, made him who he was.
Dorian knew that he would risk his life and more if it meant keeping his memories of his and John's partnership, of a time when he deemed a human his friend. Even if those feelings would never truly be reciprocated.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
McQuade's bar was just starting to hum with activity, its usual patrons of cops just now starting to trickle in as their shifts ended. Off in a corner booth, Kennex and Kirk each nursed a Burbon. Kennex turned their conversation away from how nothing had changed about the neighborhood or the bar since Kirk's departure seven months ago with "So this case…"
But Kirk raised his hands. "Whoa. Whoa. Let's slow down. I haven't grabbed a drink with you in….years."
John looked away from his friend and his jaw flexed a moment before he refocused on Kirk. "Right…two nights before the raid. You, me…Pelham," John recalled, the name of his dead partner coming out bitter.
Leaning across the table, Kirk sank his gaze into John's. "His death was not your fault. Raids go sideways without warning…."
"Anna," John cut him off, voice rough, eyes shifting from sorrowfully remorse to full on guilt. "She was Insydicate, bugged my apartment, knew we were coming." Here he gave a harsh snort. "She was there. Threw the bomb at my feet….correction, at that point it was foot, singular."
"What?!" Kirk exclaimed, face paling at the new information, at the additional but unwarranted guilt it would coil around his friend's soul. "When did all this get discovered? You woke up a blank slate."
"Recollectionist helped me unbury some memories," John supplied, almost started when Kirk's hand shot out and slammed his forearm down, pinning it to the table, seared him with his patent, I'm-so-pissed-I'm-ready-to-start-swinging high voltage glare.
"Recollectionist?! Are you out of your mind?" Jim snarled before he answered his own question. "Wait, of course you are." Tightening his already bruising grip on his friend's arm, he fought down the urge to clock Kennex across the mouth, instead let the tone of his voice convey his indignant protest to his friend's actions. "They could have scrambled your brain, especially with the trauma you suffered." Hoped the 'idoit' was understood, was if the sudden anger that flared in John's eyes was any indication.
"It got me answers! Answers I needed!"
"What it will get you, in the long run, is dead!" Kirk hissed, though he wanted to bellow it across the cityscape. Pointing at his friend with reprimand, he decreed, "You're done messing with that crap, you hear me. Done!"
Kennex ripped his arm free of Kirk's hold. "Now you're starting to sound like Dorian! It's my life, my memories, my risk! I decide if it's worth it."
But something derailed Kirk's line of thought. "Wait, you're telling me the DRN knows you went to a recollectionist?! A black market doctor?! And he didn't report it? That's…that's… how? As your partner he's programed to …"
"He's not an MX! Thank God. He has free will and….a bleeding heart," Kennex said with a smirk, remembered how Dorian had thrown his own caustic label back at him after he saved his life when the recollectionist thing went a little off the rails. Just a smidgeon.
Struggling to put together the differences between the DNR that his best friend was partnered with and an MX, Kirk concluded with some measure of surprise, "He covered for you."
"Yeah, more than once," John conceded, taking a casual sip of his Burban so he didn't smile, was glad Dorian wasn't there to gloat over his confession…and the praise.
Slumping back against the bench seat, Kirk stammered, "Ok…well… not what I expected. But now I'm pissed that he covered for you. He should have ratted you out just to ensure you didn't go back to the recollectionist."
Holding his friend's gaze, John calmly asked, "That what you would have done? Report me?" already knowing the answer.
Kirk's face scrunched up in indignation. "No! Course not. I woulda slammed your head against a wall to knock some sense into you."
John smiled. "That's the James Kirk I know and love."
Not willing to crumble under his friend's warm regard, Kirk threatened, "I'll do it now, slam your head against a wall unless you promise me you're done risking the few brain cells that ever worked in that coiffed head of yours. So you're done, right?"
His mouth morphing into a tight line, John lowly replied, "You want me to lie to you?"
"No! I want you to not end up being a vegetable!" Jim emotionally shot back but saw his outburst was just rolling off John's back.
"Stop with the mom routine already," John snapped.
And Kirk knew that was as far as he could push John, that to say any more would have his friend storming off…and he didn't want that. Wanted whatever time he could spend with his friend to be with them on good terms. So he swallowed down the rest of the liquor in his glass, snagged John's glass and emptied it too before he rejoined with, "So the DRN…."
"Dorian," John instinctively corrected.
"Ok, Dorian," Jim drawled out to stress his over-politeness to adhere to John's suggestion. "He's ok to work with?"
"Yeah, actually he is," Kennex's surprise at his own statement peeking through.
But Kirk needed a little more convincing before he felt better about the DNR. "Watches your back? I don't mean about not ratting you out but…you know, when the crap is hitting the fan?" Because they both knew that an MX had left Pulham and in turn, Kennex to die. Had cared more about analyzing statistics of survival than bothering to actually facilitate the survival of two of his "teammembers", if a robot could even think of humans as teammembers.
Thinking of all the times Dorian had gone against protocol at his request, had been there in the nick of time to save his life, had unprotestingly let his gut instinct lead them and followed him into the line of fire, John earnestly announced, "I trust him with my life, Jim."
Honestly taken aback at his friend's declaration, Kirk had to fight down a pang of jealousy. He had been gone only a few months and this …this machine had somehow earned John's trust when Jim didn't think his friend would ever trust anyone else again like he had before the raid. Not even him. "Ok, that's…good," he croaked out, hated that John was giving him a confused look at his less than locked down emotions. Consciously he changed the subject. "So the case I'm working on, it's a regular Bonnie & Clyde shtick. They do high end robberies and seem to enjoy taking lives. Took down three jewelry stores and two banks in Philly with the help of synthetic thugs then they blew town…but not before leaving a Swiss cheesed synthetic that a guard took out at one of the robberies. We found blue prints in the snythetic's memory core."
John easily put the piece together. "Blue prints of a building from our fair city here. Which is why you're here to assist me in taking them down."
"Assist you?! You're my assistant. It's my lead, my case," Jim protested, as John knew he would.
"No way, Kemosobe. My city, my case," John drawled, enjoyed yanking Jim's chain.
"Dream on!" Jim shot back which John childishly retorted back with, "You dream on," But their scowls broke into chuckles a second later, which lead to another round of drinks..and then another.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
"Do we need to discuss a hangover remedy," Dorian greeted John's arrival the next morning from his position in John's chair in the squad room.
"Nope. If Rudy let you out early this morning for good behavior…boy, he doesn't know you," John remarked, knew he wasn't running late that morning, even though he had wanted to stay in bed until his headache had simmered down to a dull roar.
"You're the only one that brings bad behavior out of me," Dorian retorted with a smirk
Jerking his thumb to indicate Dorian should vacate his chair, John sank into it the second it was available. "No. You punched Richard, the whole squad saw you do it."
"Which you know and the squad knows that that only happened because I was suffering mood swings due to a low charge."
"Yeah, all psychopaths have excuses," John said before he mimicked in a high pitched squeak, "My mom made me do it, my ex-girlfriend shouldn't have rejected me…I have a low charge. The typical whinings of the criminals today."
Dorian smirked, knew that the bantering going on right then, it was a friendship thing. No one could convince him otherwise. But he nearly groaned when the one person who probably could turn his certainty to dust sauntered into the squad room at that moment, bearing not an ounce of the haggardness Kennex was sporting for their joint night on the town.
"Hello all," Kirk jovially greeted the squad at large. Dorian didn't miss that the females in the room batted their eyes at Kirk and gave him bashful smiles and the men offered up a nod or, if they were on the phone, a manly wave or salute. Then Mr. Congeniality crossed to Kennex…and handed him a coffee.
"French roast. From that coffee joint on 1st that you love but are too cheap to splurge on. And it's super hot like you like it." Jim explained, enjoyed John's look of bliss at his first slip.
"You are still the man," John praised, taking another heavenly taste of the coffee.
Dorian bristled at John's side, not only at having been upstaged in his "coffee warmer" status but that John said "man"…a phrase he hated Dorian to use, ever. Like it was a familiarity that wasn't permitted. 'Apparently not between me and him but him and his buddy here…all the rage,' Dorian grumbled in his head.
"Yes, I am the man and don't you forget it," Jim shot back to John before hopping onto the side of John's desk. "So, we have five possible targets to stake out…."
Dorian took that as his opening. "Actually, I have a conceivable way for us to track your perps before they are in the middle of their robbery."
"Rrreeeaaalllly," Kirk drawled mockingly. Seeing Dorian's jaw clench in anger, he chuckled, "Come on, don't be pissed. Share with the class."
Noting that John was steadily watching him, waiting for him to be a contributing member of their team, Dorian pocketed his frustration and, turning to his partner, alighted John on his plan, "Since the five blueprints were obtained from one of the perps synthetic which was destroyed in a shoot out…."
"Awww, guess my MX and your hard drive were sweet talking each other last night," Kirk interjected with a cocky smile, which had Dorian spinning to face him, radiating anger.
"I'm trying to help you! If you want me to stop…."
Kirk gave a dismissing wave as he lightly interjected, "Don't fry your circuits." To John he said in a mock whisper, "You forgot to mention his mood swings and pissiness around humans."
Knowingly encroaching on Kirk's personal space bubble, Dorian growled, "Not all humans…just rude, egotistical jerks."
But that jab only amused Kirk more. "Then no wonder you and John don't get along."
Dorian felt like Kirk had landed a physical blow…right through his synthetic soul. He and John did get along….didn't they? What had John told Kirk last night? That he was a burden? That he wished for an MX that didn't have "mood swings and pissiness".
Intervening, John gave Dorian a push back from Jim and stood between his two warring friends. "Can we please focus on the case. Dorian, what's your idea to track them? Something to do with the bot or the blueprints?"
Fighting down the urge to hurt Kirk like he had hurt him, Dorian instead met John's gaze, understood that John was asking for his insight, not Kirk's and that meant something. A lot, actually. "Both, but we'll need Rudy's help."
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
"Rudy, my man!" Kirk greeted as he sauntered into the lab, strode up to Ruby and hugged him.
Standing back at John's side, Dorian muttered under his breath, "Is there anyone he's not going to hug."
"He didn't hug you," John drolly pointed out, enjoyed Dorian's smirk.
"Small blessings," Dorian said, feeling some of his hurt fade at his bantering with John. But it was still hard to not roll his eyes as he witnessed Kirk absorbed in another happy reunion.
Giving Kirk a wide smile, Rudy gushed, "Jim, it's good to see you! Are you transferring back?" a load of hope in the question.
At the question, Jim shot John a self-conscious look, read his friend's sharp interest and knew that Sandra had kept her promise, hadn't told Kennex why he had transferred and had to stay gone. Then he was answering Rudy, hoped his regret didn't shine through his tone, "Nah, just visiting but I do need your brand of brilliance, buddy." He suddenly snapped his fingers and his MX stepped out from behind John and Dorian to come to his "partner's" side. Jerking a thumb back to his MX, Kirk explained,"Tin Can here downloaded a blueprint file for five buildings in town from a perp's bot and Dorian suspects this info was transferred to another bot first, might leave us a trail to another bot our prep has in his circus. You know...a bot version of a STD."
Though the bawdy comment wasn't unlike something Kennex would stay, it grated against Dorian's already shard nerves. It helped, though, when Rudy enthusiastically latched onto his idea, even shot him a proud look and gushed, "Great idea, Dorian," even as Rudy started to hook cords into the MX to start the tracking process.
As Rudy worked, Kirk leaned casually against a desk. "So how's your health, Rudy? You get that weird rash figured out you had a year ago?"
Pleased that someone had listened when he talked, Rudy's head jerked up and he gave Kirk a full watt smile. "Yes, it wasn't…" but he shot John and Dorian an embarrassed glance before he dropped that part of his statement and returned his eyes to Kirk, "It was a reaction to the chemicals I was using to improve the picture function on the MXs. All cleared up now."
"Good, good. Here I thought it was cooties you picked up when you visited John in the hospital. They say the hospital, even with today's advances, is a cesspool of germs, latching onto your skin, your eyes…your immune system," Kirk said, missing John's consternation, but Dorian didn't.
"You visited John while he was in his coma?" Dorian asked of Rudy for John, knew the man was too shocked or embarrassed by Rudy's compassion to do it.
Kirk's eyes jumped to Kennex's. Reading the expression on his friend's face, Jim gently turned to Rudy who had shot an embarrassed look to Kennex before making the MX his total focus. "You never told him?"
Rudy shyly shook his head, but shot John another tentative look to gauge the man's disgust, surely thought the hardened police officer wouldn't have appreciated him seeing him at his weakest. But there wasn't anger in Kennex's eyes but a soft look of gratitude.
Throwing an arm around Rudy's shoulders, Kirk patted Rudy on the chest but held John's gaze, "This guy visited you every month in the hospital while you were playing Rip Van Winkle. Talked shop and shared his newest breakthroughs with you…which was so out of your IQ level, considering you don't know how to work your toaster without giving it a swift slam. Maybe that's why you seem a percentage smarter, your subconscious soaked up something Rudy said to you."
John still couldn't find words, had no idea anyone but Kirk had visited him in the hospital while he was in his coma.
Rudy's equipment binged and the scientist took that as a saving grace, slipped out from Kirk's companionable grasp and focused on the work at hand. Scrolling down the information on his computer, he smiled, "Yup, another bot was given the information before this one and I think….yes, there's its location." Turning in triumphant, he announced, "19034 Mercy Way."
Kirk hooted in triumphant. "Whoo hoo! Rudy, you got a heart of gold and a brain of pure genius." Ignored Dorian's mumbled, "Not like all this was my idea or anything." Clasping Rudy on the shoulder, Jim bade, "Take care of yourself and this guy," pointing to John.
"Sure thing," Rudy proudly promised, stunned to have Kirk charge him with John's well-being.
'Sure, right, Rudy will protect John. From what…his brain exploding from too much tech information,' Dorian internally groused, felt a stab of regret when he realized that he was now angry at Rudy for no fault of the scientist's. Which made him only angrier at Kirk for making him turn on his friend. Because Rudy was his friend, no doubts…right? I mean, they did the bar scene together, played chess, surely only friends did that.
Dorian realized that he was caught up in his own thoughts when he didn't notice John had left his side, when a hand unexpectedly grabbed his elbow and gave him a tug, Kirk's hand. Yanking his arm from the man's touch, he glared at the detective for trying to manhandle him. But before he could verbally rail at Kirk, the man jerked his head to the left, had Dorian looking that way to see Kennex approaching Rudy. And he got it then, that he should leave the two men to talk. Without acknowledging Kirk's insight or presence, he stalked out of the room, knew Kirk was only a pace or two behind him but was certain the man was smirking that irritatingly cocky smirk of his at his back.
Seeing that Jim and Dorian had left him alone with Rudy, John came to Rudy's side as the man focused on the MX torn apart on his table. "Rudy…about what you did…"
Instead of raising his eyes to Kennex, Rudy seemed to hunker down more into himself, didn't want to know how much of a fool he had been, thinking John would feel anything but resentment for his intruding on him in his weakness, thinking they were anything more than workmates…and that they interacted only because John needed his tech know-how.
Reaching out, John put his hand on Rudy's shoulder, which finally earned him the other man's eye contact. "It means a lot that you visited me, that I wasn't alone."
Finally drawing in a breath, Rudy expelled it in a rush the next second, "I would have visited you when you woke up too but …they said you didn't want visitors."
John's jaw flexed a moment before he conceded, "Yeah, I was…." Struggled to find the right description besides despondent, suicidal, immersed in a homicidal rage, finally settled on, "not in a great frame of mind. Better for both of us that you stayed away." Because who knew the hurt he would have inflicted on Rudy if he offered up a good intentioned pep-talk.
Nodding in understanding, Rudy quietly stated, "Jim didn't stay away. Kept me apprised of your improvement." Didn't want John to think he was the only one, the greatest supporter of his, to be somehow oblivious to how consumed with concern Jim Kirk had been over him, how steadfast the other detective's loyalty and friendship was to John. Would always be.
John gave a bittersweet smile as memories popped into his head. "Yeah. Well, Kirk took a crapload of abuse from me. I don't know how many times I threw the guy out of my room and told him not to ever come back."
A tender smile turned up Rudy's lips. "But he wouldn't leave you…not until he knew you were gonna be ok."
Smiling and giving Rudy's shoulder a squeeze before he dropped his hand, John leaned close to Rudy and declared, "That's because he's a stubborn jerk. Later, Rudy."
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"This is stupid, not calling in backup!" Dorian hissed, not for the first time as he crouched behind Kennex and Kirk at the corner of a building fifty yards from 19034 Mercy Way.
To Kennex, Kirk snapped, "He have a hearing problem?" before he looked over his shoulder at the DNR. "Like I said, ten times now, whenever we came upon them with a troop of MXs, they seem to know we're coming, and when we thought we had them cornered, they shut down the MXs in their path and slipped through our perimeters. I don't know how but they hack into the MXs, into our communications. So no Tin Can backup!"
"What about your MX?" Dorian shot back lowly, jabbing his finger over his shoulder to the MX hovering behind him.
"He's staying out here," Kirk imparted.
Which had Dorian exclaiming in a perfect human example of an emotional outburst, "What?! No, no way! Just us three against two heavily armed humans and two maybe three combat trained bots?! That's crazy."
Jim swiveled his look from Dorian to Kennex, a roguish light coming alive in his eyes. "Just like our old patrol days, right? Before bots were mandatory, it was just you and me. Man we cleaned house back then."
Kennex smiled at the memories of their glory days. "Tag teamed the bad guys like we did in football. Kennex and Kirk, the Dynamic Duo."
"There's that phrase again," Dorian bitterly said under his breath before he latched onto John's arm, swung his friend, ok, his partner around to face him. "We need backup, John. If not MXs, then Richard and Valerie."
But Kirk had turned too, made their two man huddle a three man one. "No, we can't waste anymore time. They hit their targets in the morning. MORNING," he repeated like Dorian was an imbecile, didn't know the word and that right now was that time of day. "They might walk out that door any moment now. We want the element of surprise, we don't want a shoot out in the streets like the OK Coral, we go now. Me and John through the front door and you hold at the back in case they rabbit."
"Hold at the back?! I'm not a doorman?! I'm a cop! I'm his partner," Dorian hissed, pointing to Kennex as if who his partner was, was in question.
Kirk opened his mouth to retort back but Kennex snarled, "Whoa! You two stow it!' Pointing to the MX he ordered, "You stay here, we need you we'll call you in." Then he turned to Dorian. "Dorian, we don't know if they can hack you." At Dorian's flare of anger, he continued in a gentler voice, "You don't know that, right?"
Miffed, Dorian looked away a moment before he again met John's eyes, confessed, "No, but…"
John cut off his words. "Ok then you'll have our backs by cutting off their escape."
Dorian gave a disheartened nod. 'Not 'our' backs, John, 'yours'. You're the one I'm supposed to be protecting.' And it felt all manners of wrong ten minutes later when he left John's side, slipped to the back of the house at 19034 Mercy Way and waited there like a useless doorman.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Having watched Dorian slip around the house, John looked to Jim and his friend's no-nonsense nod of his head told him Kirk was in full-cop mode. Knowing he wouldn't want anyone else at his side on this operation besides Kirk, well no human, John ran forward in a low crouch toward the house's front door without trepidation, Jim pacing him. Noiselessly, they came onto the porch, exchanged silent communication and then Kirk sent his boot heel slamming the door in.
Charging first through the door, Kennex shouted, "Police, throw down your weapons!" his gun raised and scanning for targets in the living room and hallway before him. Could feel Kirk at his back, his breath measured and his stance holding until John waved him forward.
Passing John, Kirk aimed his gun up the empty stairs before pressing his back against the hallway wall. He shot Kennex a look and he knew they both sensed they weren't alone, that their targets were in the house, not willing to show themselves yet. Jerking his head to the closed room door to his left, Jim waited to move until John nodded his Ok before he kicked in the door, scanned the room and found it empty, was backing out of it when gunfire shattered the silence.
Armor piercing bullets from a rifle rained down through the ceiling, thunking into the carpet inches from John's right foot and consequently the space he was about to occupy the very next second. John stumbled backwards as the bullets seemed to follow him across the floor. His retreat had his back slamming into the wall beside the front door. Cornered. With an enraged cry, he dove right, did a roll across the floor and came up into a crouch in the living room even as Kirk sent bullets harmlessly into the ceiling, their velocity not great enough to penetrate the plaster, let alone take out the shooter.
Then Kirk did a short run, deftly vaulted over the staircase railing and started up the steps. But he was soon under fire from through the ceiling as the floorboards creaked under his boots and gave away his position. Recognizing a no win situation, he hopped over the railing and dropped into a crouch on the floor and then slammed his back into the opposite wall of the hallway, gun trained on the stairs in case their perps were brave enough to descend.
John couldn't get a direct line of sight of his friend, hoped he was ok, knew it the next second when he heard the man's voice coming through his comm. "So maybe backup wouldn't have been a mistake." But he heard amusement in his friend's tone. Kirk always was an adrenaline junkie.
"Come on, we got this," John assured. "Besides, I'd be pretty embarrassing now, bringing in your Tin Can and Dorian to save our butts," found himself smiling because he wasn't so different from Kirk. "I say we go on…" he never got to say 'three' because the wall behind him crumbled as a bot's fist rammed through it, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pulled him through the wall, uncaring that human bones didn't tend to be strong enough to crumble walls in their wake.
Dragged through the wall in the opening like a rag doll, John tucked his gun under his arm and pointed it behind him, fired off some rounds. Though the bullets didn't drop the bot, it at least propelled him back a few steps, caused him to lose his hold on his human ragdoll. But when that hold broke, John couldn't gain his feet in time, ended up free falling to the ground, landed flat out on his back, the breath knocked from him. But he didn't need his breath to move, to raise his gun and sent a bullet through the bot's head.
Even as the bot was falling, Kennex sensed movement to his left, was swiveling his gun to the lush blonde woman who made up the Bonnie & Clyde duo but she already had a bead on him, was intent on putting a bullet through his forehead, was pulling the trigger seconds before he would be able to.
But even as John heard the report of the gun, Kirk cried out a "no!" and slammed into Bonnie, skewing her aim and taking her to the ground. John felt a searing burn across his neck like someone had lit a line of gasoline there. But he was struggling to sit up, fighting the pain and the blurry vision to zone in on Kirk. Kirk who was getting his butt kicked by the woman, who took a vicious elbow to his larynx and fell backwards, gasping for breath.
Even as the woman rolled right and aimed her gun at Kirk, Kennex was pulling the trigger. Watched her lifeless body topple over on top of Kirk the next moment. The Detective wasn't prepared to hear an enraged cry of despair and fury pierce the air or see their Bonnie's Clyde counterpart in the doorway, eyes wide on his fallen lover before he lethally advanced toward Kennex, rifle coming up, all set to exact his revenge.
Kennex's gun clicked on empty and somehow in the shuffle, Kirk's gun was on the floor, in the no man's land between the detectives. As the rifle sighted on his head, John began to accept that this wasn't a raid he was going to walk away from, not this time.
That was until Dorian ignored his orders and kicked in the back door, came stalking into the room like an avenging angel, firing mercilessly at Clyde, who wisely dove back into the other room, let his remaining bot step in front of him and take the bullets meant for him. Then their modern day Clyde turned tail and ran…out the front door, knew unerringly not to go across the street and cross paths with the MX dutifully holding his position out there. Instead, he tore down the walkway on the right, dodged into a backyard and disappeared.
For his part, Dorian didn't stop his barrage of bullets until the abandoned bot was down on the ground, unmoving, was no longer a threat to John.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
TBC
ANANAHAHAHAHAHAH
I would really love some feedback on this, see if anyone's enjoying it. Thanks for reading.
Have a great day!
Cheryl W.