Chapter 1: Calibrations.

"We need to stop the leak, I don't want it to shut down in the middle of the interrogation. Run it by the engineering department first," he really wanted to question that deviant android straight away, but he suspected that he might need more time than -

Analyzing…

Processing…

Estimated time until shutdown: 20 minutes 30 seconds

- he should be able to get a confession in less than half of that, but he needed to maximize his chances.

"Understood," the PC200 nodded and took a handcuffed android by the arm and pulled it behind him.

While he was passing by the break room, Connor heard a familiar voice.

"Bloody hell!"

Valerie Jones, an engineer, the precinct's "medic", as most colleagues called her. If that's her in the break room, that means there is nobody downstairs in the workshop. Right now she was examining odd looking coffee machine on the kitchen's counter.

He hesitated for a few seconds and entered the break room.

"For fuck sake, what the hell is wrong with this thing," she muttered, eyes scanning the device searching for a possible source of flashing red error message on the display "...whoever designed this piece of shit expected us to be fucking clairvoyants or what...".

19 minutes 12 seconds remaining

She didn't even noticed him, busy manipulating different knobs and adjusting cables. "Valerie? We have just brought in a-"

"Can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some-" she hissed and sucked her finger as a hot steam went through metal pipe on the side of the device "-oh goddamnit!"

Connor focused on the cause of her outburst. He didn't recognize it, but he remembered that Lieutenant Anderson mentioned earlier this morning that "...some idiot broke a coffeemaker and they found in the storage this old-school monstrosity- damn, this thing has to be at least 20 years old! It's not idiot-proof-one-button-does-it-all like the last one, but Jesus Christ, this is a decent coffee at last."

He couldn't help himself. "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" he asked with a smirk as he crossed his arms, somewhat amused at the sight of an engineer struggling with something as basic as preparing a drink.

"...have you tried turning yourself off and on again?" Valerie groaned and hit the side of a nefarious box, frustration boiling underneath the surface. She let out a long sigh and started rubbing her temples slowly. Her shoulders dropped. "Shit, I'm sorry Connor, I'm just so tired I can barely see anything, let alone think and try to find out what is wrong with it," she said quietly and turned to face him, shade of apologizing smile on her lips.

Connor knew that the last few days must had been rough for her. More and more deviant cases, meaning that engineering department was clocking overtime everyday, trying to patch up preps brought to the precinct to make them conscious enough to be interrogated, as well as helping remaining android officers damaged on duty. And after last week's incident she was the last one standing in this battle.

It was strange - seeing her like this. Most of the times he had a chance to observe her during work, she was composed, a laser-sharp focus, no unnecessary movements between the tasks.

18 minutes 5 seconds.

Connor was unsure how to handle this situation, so he ran a quick scan of her:

Dark shades under eyes - lack of sleep

Wrinkly shirt tucked partially in the pants - (the same one that he saw on her yesterday during the morning briefing) - did not leave the precinct since yesterday

shaking hands - high level of stress

She was exhausted. Not good. The time was running out, but with her state the probability of making a mistake - calculating... 78,98% - was too high. He decided. "It can wait," Connor tilted his head lightly and smiled. "You need to sit for a while, let me help you."

Her posture tightened, lips pressed into a thin line. She looked him directly in the eyes. "No. You have better things to do than making me coffee, Connor," she frowned, focusing once again on the coffee machine. "I should be able to…"

But he was already by her side. He reached for her shoulder, touching it gently. "Please."

Another sigh left her mouth. But then Valerie loosened up a bit, clearly defeated. Taking his chance, he led her to the table and forced her to sit on a chair. She rested her head on her forearms.

No time to waste. He have already downloaded and read a manual and he went back to the device. Analyzing… Processing… That thing was scheduled for a routine descaling. The manual said it should take half an hour. At least. After giving it a few tries, he managed to convince that stubborn machine that it's freshly cleaned and it finally started working. How does she likes her coffee? There was a box of milk nearby so he grabbed it and two minutes later finished making… a double-shot-cappucino? He smiled to himself. This should do the trick.

13 minutes 45 seconds remaining.

Connor picked up a steaming cup and approached Valerie. She must have fallen asleep almost instantly. He didn't want to startle her (although this could help her get back on her feet) so he patted her gently on the back "Your coffee is ready," he said in a soft voice.

Valerie slowly opened her eyes. "Well that was a hell of a power-nap, thank you," she stretched her arms and tried to hide a yawn as he placed the cup in front of her.

"Well well well, tin can, so you are capable of making coffee after all, huh? Jones, what did you do to make this douchebag obey, threatened to disassemble his plastic ass next time he ends up in your little freak room in the basement?"

Detective Reed. Connor's LED flashed yellow and then red for a split second, his fingers started to clench as he remembered what happened during their previous encounter – but then he felt that Valerie quickly touched his hand as if she asked him to let her handle this. His LED turned to the usual blue, his body relaxed as he decided to not interfere. For now.

"Gavin!" her face brightened as she laid her eyes on a man standing in front of them and grinned. "It's impossible how they can be sometimes sooo stubborn, isn't it?" Valerie shook her head, stood up and approached him, her smile still wide. "I've heard what happened when you tried to get coffee last time..."

Connor blinked. Reed was now lying on a floor, blood dripping from between the fingers covering his nose. Shit, she is fast.

Detective's eyes were full of hatred. "You bitch-" he spat out but she have already turned away from him and grabbed her cup from the table.

"How much time do I have?" Valerie asked as she started walking towards door without looking at any of them.

"11 minutes 24 seconds" Connor replied automatically, shaking off the surprise that flooded his system after that unexpected turn of events.

"Thank you," and she was gone.

Connor glanced at still cursing Reed trying to stand up from the floor and his lips twitched into a smile. Seeing that man on the ground was...satisfying. "Detective." Connor nodded in his direction, left the break room and headed to the workshop.

Notes: Okay, don't hate me, I love Gavin Reed as much as you do, but Val was tired. I will make it up to him? Probably?

Also, this is the first fanfic I've ever written and my English might be a little rusty, so... *shrugs*.

Disclaimer: … are we still doing that? Anyway, I own nothing.