Chapter Two
Impasse

Gavin was absolutely seething. As he drove, he was hunched over in the driver's seat, eyes glaring straight ahead with his jaw clenched so tight that his teeth were starting to ache. His knuckles were white as he gripped the stirring wheel with both hands. Gavin was doing his absolute best to take calm, measured breaths to help keep control over his temper. But it was so damn hard right now. Especially with Richard right beside him in the passenger seat. It would be so easy to just deck the fucking android. But again, Gavin was trying to not piss the android off. So he had no choice but to internalize all his anger, which meant he was a boiling pot just threatening to spill over.

Music was blasting from the speakers of his car so he could focus on something other than the anger that was making his hands itch. That itch of wanting to throw punches and just break something. Did Gavin have poor anger management skills? Yes, yes he did. But he didn't know how to handle it differently. Shit, he had poor management over any and all emotion. He knew he was a loose canon when it came to his emotions, but fuck if he knew how to fix that. It was why he didn't really have partners. They just couldn't handle him. And fuck Richard for sticking around. Gavin was sure that if it wasn't the android's mission, it would've left a long time ago for a better partner. The detective didn't blame it, not in the slightest. But it was just a machine that didn't feel so Gavin was stuck with it. Yay.

The radio turned off mid-song. "You missed the turn Detective." Fuck this android! He did not!

"I did not," he practically snarled. He hadn't been paying attention to the road, focusing more inward to keep from boiling over. When he finally tuned back in to where they currently were, he realized that Richard was right. He had blown right passed the turn off to get back to the precinct. "Fuck me," he muttered as he took the next turn.

The music didn't turn back on, now that they were on the right track back to the station. Gavin released the stirring wheel with one hand, grunting softly at the ache in his hand from clenching it for so long to press the power button the radio to turn it back on. It resumed for about one second before it was turned off once again, silence filling the vehicle once again. He pressed the button again. This time, it didn't even turn on.

"Richard I swear to god," he snapped as he tried to turn the radio on again. Nothing. How the fuck was it even doing that!? It's not like his car was one of those automated ones.

"You have damaged your eardrums enough for the day Detective." This dense motherfucker. Gavin growled as he wiped the car into a parking lot with no warning. At the speed he was going, he was hoping that Richard would have to grab onto something to steady itself but it acted like the harsh turn didn't even bother it. He parked the car quickly, not even caring that he was diagonal and taking up four parking spaces.

"Stay in the fucking car," he ordered as he roughly threw his door open. Once he was outside, Gavin slammed the door shut and put his hands on the roof of the car. He leaned against his arms heavily, staring down at the asphalt with his head hanging low as he tried to just calm the fuck down. He started to drum his fingers against the car, starting at the pinkie then going to his index finger, then back down again. A trick he learned that helped calm him down, to take his mind off of whatever unpleasant thing he was feeling or even thinking.

And it was working. Sort of. Until he heard the passenger door open and close. His fingers gripped the roof tightly as he lifted his head slightly to glare at the android over the vehicle. "Don't you ever fucking listen?"

Richard returned his glare easily with a cold stare of its own. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Fuck you," Gavin snapped.

"I am not sure as to why you are so angry Detective," it pressed instead, brushing off Gavin's rude comment. "If it is because I asked you to step outside while I questioned the victim then I won't apologize." The two had been sent out to investigate another break-in. They had been happening quite frequently, which is what lead Gavin to believe this was definitely about gathering blue blood – thirium as Richard liked to remind him every fucking time he didn't call it that – for Red Ice production. Typically the break-ins happened when the android victims were away at work or just weren't home for whatever reason. This one was different because the android had been home when the break-in occurred. Which lead to the possibility of them finally getting a suspect.

"I'm not doing this right now Richard," Gavin grumbled as he turned his back to the android, leaning against the car with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He didn't want to interact with Richard as much as possible.

"No, you refuse to 'do this' any time I try to talk to you." Gavin could hear that Richard was walking around the car as it spoke, probably to make it so that Gavin couldn't ignore it. The detective glared over at the android, who was walking around the hood of the car. He quickly pushed off of it so that he wasn't leaning anymore and proceeded to walk around the back, keeping distance between him and the android. Childish, sure, but necessary if he was going to keep his hands to himself.

Software Instability ^^^

Richard stopped in front of the driver's side door. Gavin stood in front of the passenger. "Must you be so immature?"

Gavin flipped it off. "Bite me, tin can."

"I should not have to explain myself when I request you to allow me to question a victim." It paused. "But if I must. The android was nonresponsive to my inquiries while you were present in the apartment. You were making him uncomfortable, Detective."

Gavin had tried to talk to the android first, his name being Andrew Lexington. Andrew was very withdrawn with the Detective, practically giving him the cold shoulder as Gavin asked just the basic routine questions. After a few more attempts to get the android to talk to him, he had given up, passing him off to Richard so he could investigate the apartment. It was a decent size. Very minimalistic in its décor and furniture. Maybe that was just Andrew's style. There was even art hung up on the walls, abstract and very new age. It was interesting to look at. But Gavin barely made it pass the living room before Richard approached him. "I suggest that you step outside for a smoke break, Detective," it had told him, very intensely staring down at him.

The detective huffed with irritation. "Why? I haven't even checked the break-in point." Plus, it was strange that Richard was telling him to indulge in his vices. Usually the android was trying to get him to stopsmoking.

"I must insist, Detective. I will analyze it once I'm done with Andrew." Then Richard proceeded to block the apartment off from Gavin with it's body. When Gavin had tried to step around it, it had matched his steps easily, gaze only getting more intense the longer he refused to step out. Gavin grew tired of their game rather quickly before stalking out of the apartment.

He did as he was told, albeit begrudgingly. He stood off to the side of the door to the apartment complex and lit a cigarette. He was leaning against the building, halfway through the stick when Richard exited the building. As soon as Richard had seen him, it walked over, plucked the cigarette from his lips and pinched the cherry with its fingers to put it out. "We can leave now," was all it said before he threw the cigarette away and started walking towards the car. Gavin gritted his teeth together as he stalked after the android, instantly angered that Richard hadn't informed him as to what it learned.

Gavin threaded both hands through his hair. "You could've fucking told me! I don't know this shit unless you fucking communicate with me!" He groaned angrily.

Richard was cocky enough to cock its head to the side. "Considering that you haven't been communicating with me, I thought it wasn't necessary."

"'Wasn't necessary?' Are you fucking serious!?" Gavin snapped aggressively. He was getting so tired of Richard's shit.

"I am Detective. If you refuse to talk to me, then I see no point in trying to talk to you."

Gavin slammed the palm of his hand against the car, just to hit something, to satisfy that itch he felt in his fingers. "Damn it Nines, that's not how this works!"

Richard started to move around the car again, Gavin making sure to keep the distance between them by moving as well. "Then tell me how it works, Detective." Somehow, the use of his rank almost sounded condensing. Gavin didn't like it. It added to the hot anger he felt in his gut.

This was his time to talk to Richard, to actually tell him what was wrong. If Gavin was brave enough to do so. If Gavin was comfortable enough to express his worries about the android. But that would also mean admitting that Gavin felt scared of the machine, unequal to it. And he would rather be dead than admit those things out loud. So instead of being an adult and talking about his problems, Gavin simply bared his teeth at the android. "Fuck. Off. You hunk of plastic," he hissed. He was now standing at the hood while Richard was standing at the trunk.

Software Instability ^^^

It was quiet for a moment. "Then it appears we are at an impasse." Gavin just glared. So it would seem.


The precinct was oddly quiet when Gavin walked back into it after his lunch break. Not that he really cared, it was just odd to him. He didn't give it much thought though, as he passed the receptionist's desk, eyes glued to his phone as he was responding to a text that he had gotten. His shoulder bumped against something, Gavin glancing up to quickly see who it was. "Sorry Connor," he mumbled as he passed the android to get back to his desk. He didn't really register much about the android, just the familiar face.

He was about to sit down at his desk when he saw Connor walk up to his desk from the direction of his own. That immediately caused Gavin to pause, confusion crinkling his brow as the android approached him. "Detective," he greeted. He could see that his LED was flashing red, yellow, red. Gavin blinked, hadn't he just passed Connor?

He looked over his shoulder to see another Connor approaching him with a smile on his face. But this wasn't Richard; no this was definitely another Connor, with the same soft brown eyes and smile. Gavin had to do a double take, looking towards the Connor standing in front of him in his usual Cyberlife issued jacket, LED still blinking; and the Connor that was standing now at his side, dressed in casual clothing with no LED. It was at this point that Gavin had to question if he had been drugged while he had eaten his lunch. Maybe it was something in his drink?

"Uh…" He finally voiced, looking over to Hank's desk. The man was staring at him, their eyes met. Then the man just let out a casual shrug before turning back to his work. Gavin looked back to Connor, their Connor, the one that he worked with. "What?" He finally got out.

"This is Christopher, another RK800 unit. He insisted that you were the one he talked to," Connor explained to him, not exactly sounding pleased about the situation.

"Okay…" He said slowly, looking over to Christopher who brought his hand up and wiggled his fingers at Gavin as a hello. "Why me?" He asked, finally sitting down in his chair.

"Well I work at Diamond Dust. You told us to come to you if we ever had any problems," Christopher explained casually, voice the same as Connor's but somehow…different. Like it wasn't deeper or anything, but it sounded smoother? Somehow.

"Oh," Gavin said, brows still scrunched together in confusion. Then his brain actually registered what the android had said through his confusion. "Oh!" He quickly looked around for a spare chair for Christopher to sit in. "Yeah, uh, just…grab a chair," he instructed the other to do. He quickly turned back to his desk to grab his notebook that he left on his desk to take notes in, just in case. He heard Christopher walk away to do as he was told.

"Detective," Connor said suddenly. Gavin had forgotten that he was standing there.

Gavin looked up at him, pulling a pencil out from his desk as well. "Yeah?"

"You sure you want to…" He hesitated. "You sure you're okay interviewing him?"

Gavin nodded his head absently. "Yeah, I got it." Connor looked a mixed between relieved and concerned. His LED was still flashing yellow and red. "It's fine, Connor. Go back to doing whatever you were doing," He waved the android away with his hand, Christopher bringing a chair over to sit in.

Connor simply nodded his head quickly, casting a glance to the android that was sitting down in the chair before going back to his desk. Gavin immediately gave Christopher his attention, slightly put off by the fact he looked exactly like Connor. His elbow was placed on Gavin's desk, cheek resting against his closed fist as he stared at Gavin with a strange expression. He looked oddly relaxed and comfortable. Which was not something he was used to seeing from Connor, or Richard. Where the fuck was that android anyway? It wasn't at it's desk.

But now that he was looking at Christopher, he could pinpoint a few subtle differences between him and Connor. Christopher's hair was only slightly longer and disheveled, not slicked back like Connor and Richard's preferred hairstyle. Gavin could make out lazy waves through the android's hair, which was an attractive look on him to be honest. His eyes were the same color as Connor's but they held a look in them. Seductive almost. His eyes were outlined with the slightest hint of eyeliner, highlighting the shape of his eyes. Which just added to that seductive look. He was staring at Gavin like he was the most alluring thing in the world right now. It was off putting, making Gavin want to squirm in his seat. A soft smile graced his lips, not friendly like Connor but more suggestive. And was that glitter he had on his lips? Was Christopher wearing lip gloss? The fuck?

And the clothing. Connor kept wearing his button up shirt and tie, with that Cyberlife jacket everyday. Christopher was wearing a form fitting dark red shirt with a dark leather jacket sitting on his shoulders. The shirt's collar was a 'V' neck, showing off a slim and pale neck. And where Connor wore casual black jeans, Christopher was wearing tight, distressed light blue ones. Definitely something he wasn't used to seeing on Connor's body. It was weird.

"So what brings you in today?" Gavin asked, slipping into work mode as he opened his notebook to a blank page. He scribbled Christopher's name across the top, listing 'Diamond Dust' under it so he knew what this was about later if he had to refer to his notes at a different time.

Christopher let out a deep, unnecessary breath. "You told Jenna to call you if Kevin ever got unpleasant. I'm here to say that he's been a dick lately. More so than usual." Gavin idly nodded as he wrote that down. "It's not like he's been the best boss in the world, but he was tolerable." He lowered his voice. "Especially after you…ya know." Obviously he was trying to avoid voicing the fact that Gavin fucking punched the douche when he last visited the sex club. Which he appreciated. He didn't know for a fact, and couldn't prove it, but he was sure that Connor was listening to their conversation very closely. Call it a hunch.

"What's been going on?" Gavin questioned, leaning forward in his chair slightly, resting his elbows on his knees as he continued to write in his notebook.

Christopher adjusted in his seat, dropping his fist from his cheek to rest his arm on the surface of the desk. He picked up one of his feet and placed it on top of his own knee. "It started out slowly at first. He would be a little more snippy and irritable, but we just thought it was because of you. Then he started yelling more, getting more handsy."

Gavin set his jaw. "Handsy how?"

The android shrugged. "Not with us. Our clients." He threaded his fingers through his hair, letting it fall and cascade against his forehead. "If they even went a minute over their session time, he'd barge into the room and practically drag them out of the room. It's just not good for business." He sighed. "Then we noticed that he was talking to himself a lot. Muttering things under his breath that just didn't make any sense."

"Like what?"

He shook his head. "I honestly couldn't even tell you. The few times I've heard him, he was complaining about birds, his neighbors, things like that. I didn't think anything of it until he talked about slitting the throat of his neighbor. In excruciating detail." He took a moment, looking off to the side for a moment as he chewed on his lower lip. It should not have been as hot as Gavin found it. He made a point to not stare at the android's lips. "I…I don't know if he's being serious or not but…we're all concerned he might do something to hurt someone. And…" he hesitated again.

"And?" Gavin tried to press.

He was still silent. He set his foot down on the floor and leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees just like Gavin was sitting. "I know I wasn't supposed to," he said rather quietly, eyes half lidded as he stared intently at Gavin. "I mean, I still have the same programming and capabilities of any other RK800, being able to analyze evidence and such. I just don't use it. But…I may have let myself into his office to see what was going on." He started to wring his fingers together.

"You broke into your boss's office?" Gavin questioned, eyebrow raised.

Christopher nodded sheepily. "I don't make a habit of breaking the law, I promise. But I found traces of Red Ice in his office. When I analyzed him, he had some on his shirt, hands and around his mouth and nose. He's definitely using but I don't know if he's dealing or not."

This was troubling. "And since he employs androids, he has access to bl – thirium," Gavin quickly corrected himself. He didn't need Richard to pop out of the woodworks and correct him. Fucking prick.

Christopher nodded. "Exactly. As soon as I got off work, I came here to report it." They were going to have to investigate this for sure. It may be coincidence but it might be linked to the break-ins that were happening to android apartments.

Gavin nodded his head absently as he scribbled all that down. "Thank you for coming in Christopher."

"Please," he said, reaching forward and placing a hand on Gavin's forearm. "Call me Chris."

Gavin glanced up at him quickly before going back to writing in his notebook. "Okay, Chris." He pulled his arm away, leaning back in his seat as he turned to his computer screen slightly. "I'll file a report so we can investigate it. I can't guarantee that it'll be me that gets the case, or when we'll be able to look into it immediately so just try to act as natural as possible. Like nothing's wrong. If you could tell the others as well, it'll keep Kevin from suspecting anything. If he is using and/or dealing, it'll be easier to catch him doing it." Gavin was rambling at this point, pulling open the correct forms that he had to fill out to get everything started. "And if you wouldn't mind, we could definitely use the evidence you've already gathered. I have a tablet you can dump it all onto."

Gavin attempted to pull out the tablet he was talking about from his desk, when a hand on his knee stopped him. He glanced up, seeing Christopher leaning in close. "That won't be necessary. I'm willing to interface with your partner or Connor." He gave Gavin an easy smile, larger than the one that had been on his face when he first sat down. The new laws had made it illegal for androids to probe each other's minds, or interface without consent from both parties. So most androids often just dumped the information that they wished to share into tablets and computers. It was less invasive than trying to do it with another android. The whole invasion of privacy and such like that. But since Christopher was consenting, that made it a whole lot easier.

Gavin nodded his head, sitting upright, tablet left in the desk drawer. "Alright." He looked around, not spotting Richard anywhere. Where the fuck was the useless hunk of plastic? He stopped looking around when he felt a thumb start to softly stroke the side of his knee. His eyes immediately snap back to Christopher, the android leaning in close still with that same look in his eye as before, head cocked to the side slightly. "Uh," he hummed without meaning to.

"I really appreciate everything you've done for us Detective. If there's any way I can repay you, just let me know." He gave Gavin a wink.

"Uh." Why couldn't he think of something else to say!? Was he a fucking moron? Getting hit on by a Connor look – a – like was definitely strange. It made his brain not want to function for some fucking reason. He wasn't sure how he felt about the whole situation.

"Detective," He heard Richard say from behind him.

Software Instability ^^^

Christopher removed his hand from Gavin's knee and leaned back against his seat. "If you'd get started on that paperwork, I'll gather the information from Christopher." Gavin didn't look up to Richard as it moved to stand beside him, hand outstretched to the android in front of him. He merely nodded his head and turned back to his computer screen so he could do just that. He tried not to pay attention when the two androids interfaced, but he couldn't help but glance over. He was quick to avert his eyes back to the screen when the two released each other's hands. Then Christopher stood to his feet.

"Thank you for your time Detective Reed," he said. As he passed Gavin to walk out off the precinct, he quickly put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. Gavin thought he could feel the ghosting of fingers stroking the back of his neck before the hand disappeared. Surely that was just his imagination. He tried not to think about it as he continued working on the paperwork.

Software Instability ^^^

Richard sat down at its desk to do its own work.


Thank you for reading chapter two of Red Blood, Red Ice. I'm so sorry this has been so delayed. I just got a new job so I've been focusing on getting situated with that. It does offer me a lot of free time to write though, so it may be a good thing! I hope the chapter makes it worth the wait. And after some consideration, I realized that this series' chapters will have to be longer to cover all of the content I want it to without lasting like 30 chapters. So yay! You guys get longer chapters! But that also means that it'll take me a little bit longer to write them out. So please just be patient with me! Any and all feedback helps feed my muse and lets me know you guys like what I'm doing!

So...I hadn't actually considered that the other RK800s would've been activated after the revolution, since they were just spare bodies laying around for Connor to hop into if he died while in the game. So after that was brought to my attention, I just could not not include them somehow into the fic! There are 8 other RK800 models running around! I have ways to include four of them, just not the other four (I get that number because Connor himself is 51 and we all know 60 died after taking Hank hostage in the game, so that leaves 8 left to just be running around doing whatever they want). So if you guys have any ideas, let me know! As we know Christopher works the sex industry. I have two that work with the FBI (because why not?) and another is just a bartender (because, again, why not?). So yeah. Let me know what you think.

And yes, Chris is definitely trying to get into Gavin's pants. And Gavin has no idea how he feels about that.

Richard and Gavin will make up soon. I promise. Gavin just has to be immature and stubborn about everything. Also I apologize if the flash back is a little jarring or doesn't fit well. I was trying something new. Let me know what you guys think, ways to make it flow easier or just tell me to not try it again if it sucks that badly hahaha!

If you'd like to keep up with updates and my progress, check out my tumblr: pennameab

See you guys in the next chapter!