John kept up with Dorian as they maneuvered through the construction site. They had to find the foreman.
"Hey buddy! Where's Tom Fowler?" John grabbed a construction bot. He was a big burly model and was carrying an I-beam over his shoulder.
"He's on the third floor," The bot said and pointed up to the half constructed building.
"Thank you," Dorian said as John looked up at the building.
"Fantastic," John said and made his way into the building. This was making Dorian very nervous but John made it through the obstacles of wood, tools, concrete, and fast paced workers. They got to the elevator and it took them up to the third floor.
They found the foreman looking over drawings with another construction bot holding a stack of drywall.
"Mr. Fowler, I'm Detective Kennex and this is my partner Dorian, can we talk to you about your missing DRN?" John asked, flashing his badge to the gentleman.
"Yeah well he looked just like yours but picture him in a hard hat and reflective gear," Fowler said snidely as he began to walk away. John began to move with him.
"I get that! What I want to know is when did you notice him missing?" John asked.
"When I saw him walking away with that other bot!" Fowler growled as he started up a set of stairs. The elevator didn't go up any higher yet. John kept up with them without a problem. At least he made it look that way.
"Another DRN?" Dorian asked. Fowler nodded.
"Come to think of it yeah," Fowler answered.
"What color was he?" John asked. Fowler looked confused.
"Black like all the rest," He replied when they got to the next floor up.
"No, look at Dorian he's blue, blue eyes, blue lights, what color was this other DRN?" John tried to explain.
"Oh! Mike is orange but the one that he walked away with I couldn't tell you, he was too far away to see," Fowler said.
"Mike?" John asked.
"Yeah, he wanted to be called Michael and we call him Mike," Mr. Fowler answered. John shrugged and nodded as he made it up to the next floor.
"Oh, do you have any surveillance of the area," John replied and followed the foreman up another set of stairs.
"They haven't been installed yet, but they just walked away, I'm sure right down the street someone has to cameras up or a bot flew over, something." He answered.
"We'll check," John assured him.
"Well just give us a call when you find him, I really want to get Mike back here as soon as possible, he keeps this place organized!" Fowler said as they got to the fifth floor.
"We'll do our best," John said. Dorian checked his vitals again. The human was out of breathe and just tired.
"You know I can't help but notice these other DRN's are all quite successful in their other jobs. I mean the one at the hospital was good with patients, Mike apparently is important here," John said, using the conversation to let his muscles rest. He had been experienced in working without his leg but that didn't mean those muscles were in shape to do it all day.
"What's your point John?" Dorian asked.
"Maybe you guys are almost human, not every human can be a cop, maybe not every DRN can either. Maybe the ones that broke down on the job were just meant to be florists or something," John said.
Dorian thought about it. He remembered the DRN from the hospital being scared to get back behind a gun. It would make sense, maybe Dorian just had the heart of a cop where the other didn't.
"We ready to go?" Dorian asked John. John gave the steps a weary look. Dorian smirked to himself and stepped forward. He grabbed the crutches in one hand.
"Dorian! What the hell are you doing?" John asked as Dorian grabbed his arm and turned around. Dorian pulled John onto his back and grabbed his leg with his other arm.
"Hang on man!" Dorian said.
"What are you doing!?" John yelled. Dorian walked to the edge of the building and looked down to the ground. He scanned it to make sure it was safe and John figured out what he wanted to do.
"No, Dorian NO!" John said but he was ignored as Dorian jumped from the edge of the building. John buried his face into Dorian jacket as the android made jumping down fifty feet look easy.
Once on the ground John let go of him and hopped on his one foot for a moment.
"You're fucking crazy!" John shouted and clutched his chest with a glance up at the building. Dorian couldn't help but laugh as he held out his crutches. John took them and quickly made his way to the cruiser.
John tossed his crutches into the back seat, shut the door, and hopped to the front door. He opened it and fell into the seat. Hoppling around his apartment wasn't that much work, his entire body was getting tired and he hated to admit he was glad Dorian skipped the stairs. He had kept up with Dorian through an office building and a construction site. John leaned back against the seat and caught his breath. He didn't keep track of how long Dorian took to get into the car. Several minutes passed before the driver side door opened.
"John," Dorian spoke softly. John opened his eyes and looked over. Dorian was holding a drink out to him. John smiled and took it.
"Thank you," John breathed.
"Rudy just contacted me, your new leg is in, He is having it sent to your doctor's office," Dorian said. John was too busy downing the water to reply.
"Fantastic," John said when he came up for air.
"Let's get the leg, then start talking to DRN's that haven't been stolen yet," John said and leaned back into his seat.
"John you're exhausted," Dorian said as he began to drive.
"No I'm not," John replied, but as he said it he laid his head back against the rest then took several deep breaths.
"Uh huh!" Dorian shook his head. John didn't reply. As they drove he fought his hardest to stay awake. His eyes shut and Dorian began to play classical music. John opened his eyes and glared at the android.
"That's not fair," John grumbled.
"Get some rest John, it's not like you had surgery yesterday," Dorian replied. John's eyes drifted shut again and he fell asleep. Dorian turned the music off and smiled to himself.
Dorian drove them to the doctor's office. John had dazed in an out during the ride. When they stopped he opened his eyes and sat up. John got into his jacket and got the pills Richard had given him. He took two of them and finished off his water with them.
"What's that?" Dorian asked.
"Pain pills," John told him and opened his door. He hopped up and got into the back seat for his crutches. Dorian followed him inside. They didn't have to wait long to be let into a room. John got up on the examination bed and took off his coat. He then removed his shoe and belt.
"What are you doing?" Dorian asked.
"They have to get to my leg don't they?" John said and removed his pants. He was wearing a pair of black boxers beneath.
"Well hello Detective Kennex!" A nurse came in with a smile. John knew her, she had helped him before.
"Hey Megan," John smiled at her.
"How have you been?" She asked. John shrugged.
"Fine I guess," John replied. Megan turned to the computer sitting in the corner and saw Dorian.
"Hi, who's this?" Megan asked as she sat down in front of the monitor.
"Sorry, this is Dorian he's my partner, Dorian this is Megan she helped me get fitted for my first leg," John introduced them. Dorian shook her hand.
"Yes about that, why are you coming back into to put on a new leg? It should calibrate to the settings recorded on the base piece, you should be able to do it yourself," Megan said and pulled up Johns records.
"The base got ripped off," John said. Megan looked back at him.
"Ouch!" She responded and read the information on the screen.
"Yeah," John said.
"Okay, it says here the base was damaged beyond repair…and the settings couldn't be retrieved, well that sucks," Megan read from the screen.
"Yeah," John said again with a halfhearted smile. Megan got up and came over to John. She reached to her tools on the wall and put a black cuff around Johns arm and it took his blood pressure on it's own. She grabbed a thermometer and got his temperature instantly. The tools automatically sent the information to the computer.
"So how did it happen?" Megan asked as she waited for the blood pressure monitor to finish checking him.
"I got into it with a bot and he didn't exactly fight fair," John told her.
"Jeez, the shit you cops go through, I'm grateful but it is a lot," Megan said as all the information uploaded to the computer.
"Thanks, not a lot of people even think of that stuff," John said. Megan looked at the information.
"Your blood pressure is a bit high," Megan told him.
"It's been a stressful couple of days," John replied.
"Sounds like it, You've already got your pants off so all that's left is for me to get Dr. Olmstead and your leg, I will be right back," Megan smiled and headed out the door.
"Thank you Megan," John said.
"She's nice," Dorian said.
"Yeah I was probably the meanest to her when I first started coming here but she smiled through all of it," John answered him.
"You being mean? Say it ain't so," Dorian teased.
"Bite me," John replied.
The Doctor and nurse came back in and began what was possibly the most helpless hour of Dorian's life. He watched as they laid John down flat and put his leg on. The detective covered his face as they installed it. John's muscles flexed and he took in deep breaths. It hurt, a lot, and there was nothing Dorian could do but hope for those pain pills to kick in.
They had him perform several exercises to make sure the leg was working properly such as leg lifts, knee bends, ankle circles, and wiggling his toes. John kept his face covered until Dr. Olmstead gave him the okay.
"That should do it detective, just do the exercises everyday like normal," Dr. Olmstead told him as John relaxed his hands and looked to her.
"Yeah…will do," John said and tried to sit up. Dorian went to get to his feet and help but Megan and Dr. Olmstead got him.
"So are you done for the day?" Megan asked and found John's pants.
"Nope, just paused for my leg and some lunch then I have to get back to interviewing witnesses," John told her. Dr. Olmstead gave him a disappointed look.
"Excuse me? I just read your file, you had that base replaced last night along with surgery to repair massive internal damage, you should be on leave,"
"I've got a case Doc," John argued as he put his pants on.
"You will always have cases. I'm married to a detective myself, they never end, but you do. If you don't rest you're not doing anyone any good," Dr. Olmstead scolded him. John ignored her as he stood up to pull up his pants and button them. Dr. Olmstead looked to Dorian.
"I recognize you, you're a DRN correct?" Dr. Olmstead asked Dorian. Dorian nodded.
"Hey! Leave him alone!" John snapped at her.
"I want you to send a medical priority message your captain that Detective Kennex is on duty against medical advice, he should be on a minimum 48 hour leave," Dr. Olmstead said to Dorian.
"Don't do it Dorian!" John warned his partner but he growled when he saw Dorian's disco face light up. He sent it.
"Benedict Android is back!" John cursed and got to his feet. He grabbed his jacket and reached for the door handle. Dorian stood up to follow him and John turned to him with his hand out.
"Keys!" John demanded. Dorian gave him the keys and John stormed out.
"Thank you both," Dorian said to the women as he quickly picked up John's shows and followed his pissed off partner.
Dorian caught up with John at the car and got in. John glared over at him as he started the car.
"I have to report that sort of information and you know it," Dorian told him.
"What if more DRN's go missing?" John asked.
"Here are your socks and shoes and I have already sent messages to the remaining DRN's to be alert and to their owners, but if this DRN is over riding them, us warning them won't help," Dorian explained and handed over the shoes.
"When did you contact them?" John asked and took them. He threw them in the floor board under his legs.
"When Rudy gave me their tracking codes I was able to get their communication frequencies as well, so I called them while you we were waiting on Dr. Olmstead," Dorian explained.
"I don't know what else we can do John," Dorian told him.
"Yeah well next time a doctor tells you to rat me out you tell them to shove it!" John snapped.
"I didn't completely rat you out," Dorian said. John raised an eyebrow at him.
"Like hell you didn't!" John replied.
"Dr. Olmstead wanted me to tell Maldanado that you need to go on a 48 hour leave, I told her you were supposed to have gone on 48 hour leave," Dorian told him. John looked at him and began to smile.
"You didn't!" John said. Dorian nodded.
"You did! Man I've been a bad influence on you," John laughed. Dorian shook his head.
"Happy now?" Dorian asked. John just smiled.
"I'm impressed," John said and looked to the road. He drove them towards the precinct and Dorian noticed he was becoming fatigued.
"You alright John?" Dorian asked.
"What time is it?" John asked. Dorian scanned him as he answered.
"It's almost three o'clock, I think those pills you took are starting to kick in," Dorian told him and began to remote access the cars auto pilot. John blinked as he starred forward.
"I think you're right," John rubbed his eyes.
"I've got the car John if you want to sleep, depending on what drug that is you may not have a choice in a few minutes," Dorian said. John nodded as he pushed back his seat and leaned his head back. Dorian began driving the car remotely.
Dorian got them to the station and into the parking garage. They passed detective Stahl whom was on her way to her cruiser with her MX. She looked at John and gave him a confused look. Dorian smiled at her and stopped the car. She came to John's window as Dorian rolled it down.
"Hey Dorian…what's going on?" Valerie asked.
"Oh John's just been running himself ragged to catch a bot thief, I don't even know why he's working so hard on this case," Dorian replied. Valerie smiled at him.
"Did you ask him?" She asked.
"He's unconscious," Dorian replied.
"Well, I'll show you a trick then, it might not work but I'll try," Valerie reached forward and dragged the back of her fingers down Johns cheek.
"John," She said. John took a deeper breath but didn't respond.
"John," She said a little bolder and continued to rub his cheek.
"…hn?" John questioned in his sleep.
"Why are you working so hard on this case?" Valerie asked.
"Wh-t?" John mumbled.
"This case, why are you so worried?" She asked.
"I…don't want…them to take…Dorian," John answered in his sleep. Valerie smiled and Dorian looked on in amazement. He scanned John and he was indeed asleep even though he answered her clearly.
"Oh, Dorian's not going anywhere," Valerie said and rubbed down his neck. Johns face scrunched and he turned his head. Valerie gently removed her hands thinking she had just woke him up. John calmed again and Valerie breathed a sigh of relief before laughing to Dorian.
"You going to take him home then?" Valerie asked.
"Nope, he can sleep it off in the car," Dorian replied.
"Oh, Dorian!" Valerie scolded him.
"What are you doing today?" Dorian asked.
"I'm on my way to question a witness," Valerie told him.
"Well, be safe, I will take care of him," Dorian gestured to John. Valerie smiled again.
"See you Dorian," She said and walked back to her MX, which escorted her to her cruiser. Dorian parked the car and looked to John, all he could do was shake his head.
"John, wake up! We're back at the precinct!" Dorian said loudly and shook his partner. John opened his eyes and tried to sit forward.
"Oh, Crap!" He groaned and fell back against the seat.
"What's wrong?" Dorian asked.
"I'm beat!" John replied.
"Should I drive you home?" Dorian asked. John looked over to him and shook his head. He slipped his shoes on and got out of the car to go inside. Dorian scanned him as he walked away, John was exhausted.
"Humans-No not humans, John!" Dorian grumbled to himself as he got out of the cruiser and followed his partner inside.
John made his way to his desk and sat down. Dorian was a few moments behind him and noticed Richard looking at John wide eyed. Dorian paused by Richards desk.
"Something wrong Pauly?" Dorian asked.
"Has Kennex not taken those pills I gave him?" Richard asked.
"He has, he took two before his doctors appointment," Dorian answered.
"How long ago was that?" Richard asked.
"Almost two hours," Dorian answered.
"Those pills should have knocked him on his ass, the idea was to send him home," Richard said.
"You try telling him that," Dorian replied and looked to John. John was staring at his computer his eyes drooping.
"What did you give him?" Dorian asked Richard.
"Muscle relaxers, it looked like what was left of his leg was seizing up on him and it looked like it hurt. Two birds one stone kind of thing," Richard answered. Dorian smiled down at Paul.
"Aww Pauly, deep down you're a nice guy!" Dorian grinned.
"Back off bot, you hug me I shoot," Richard snapped. Dorian laughed and walked over to John's desk. John had laid his head down on his desk and passed out. Dorian just hung his head.
"John-Dorian! Take him home!" Maldonado snapped when she came out of her office. Dorian jolted and looked over his shoulder at her.
"Yes ma'am," Dorian replied. Maldonado shook her head and continued towards the door.
"He's lucky I have a meeting to be at," She snapped as she opened the door.
"Yes Ma'am," Dorian said again and once she was gone he relaxed.
"I wish they still made markers and stuff, right now would be prime opportunity to draw on his face," Richard said. Dorian looked over to him.
"Don't you dare! And they do still make markers, you can purchase them at art supply stores," Dorian said to him. Richard laughed and Dorian reached out to shake John's shoulder. John didn't respond in the slightest. Dorian quickly checked his vitals. When he was satisfied John was alright he grabbed one of the humans arms and lifted him up over his shoulders.
"I don't think I have ever gotten to drive this much!" Dorian replied and headed out the door with a passed out John over his shoulders.