Chapter Thirteen
Fear

It didn't take long after Gavin was pulled into the warehouse for them to start to get handsy. And not in the good way. The two men that had dragged him into the building were now holding him up as a third man just started throwing punches. Gavin knew he was prone to piss people off. Surely there was someone out there, maybe a great number of people, that would just love to go at him like this. But honestly, he had no idea what the fuck he did this time to elicit such a beating. The painkillers could only do so much in regards to keeping the pain at bay. Especially with his side. It would no surprise him if he needed to go back to the hospital after this. If he made it out alive.

"Ryan, that's enough," a woman's voice calmly stated. A punch stopped midair as he almost connected with his stomach again. Gavin was immediately dropped to his knees roughly. Before he could fall to his side like how he wanted to, hands on his shoulders steadied him to keep him on his knees. That didn't stop his head from falling forward though, blood dripping onto the floor from his lips. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, making him nauseous.

Fingers were placed under his chin to make him lift his head. Around blurry vision, he could see a red haired woman but that was about it. "So you must be the Detective Gavin Reed I've been hearing so much about," she practically purred. "Sticking your nose in places it doesn't belong."

"The fuck you want with me?" He grumbled around his busted lip. It pulled uncomfortably.

She laughed. "You? Oh I want nothing from you Detective." He gave her a confused look. This was a lot of effort to get him here if she wanted nothing from him. What the fuck? Plus, the beating. Kind of told him otherwise. "No, when I learned that an android had been assigned to the case, and Cyberlife's most advanced model no less, I knew I had to get my hands on him." So all of this was for Richard? Then why the fuck was he here!? "After that little shoot out, I figured that your android friend would come back for the car so I had one of my men wait for him. Had you stayed in the hospital, Detective," she tapped his nose with a finger, gleeful smile on her face, "you wouldn't be here. But no matter, it made it so much easier to get him here. So I must thank you for that."

Gavin was still confused. He didn't understand. Maybe it was the painkillers that were making his head fuzzy. He must've been giving her a look because she laughed again.

"Oh Detective Reed, I thought you were supposed to be smart. Well, I guess you are high on painkillers right now from your wound so I'll give you a pass this one time. It's not like it's going to matter after tonight anyway."

He felt his brows pull together in concern. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well you'll be dead. Your partner will be mine and my business operation can continue without a hitch." She sounded very proud of herself at this.

"You're the one running the trafficking ring?" Gavin finally pieced it together. Wow, that took him way too fucking long. Way to go detective. At this rate, you'll be back to beat cop in no time. Fucking moron.

She took his head into both of her hands. "Now you're getting it! Yes, it's my business. And it was going great too until you and your android friend started sticking your noses a little too close to home." She must've meant the sex clubs. So androids were being picked up from them. That was good to know. Or was it not? Gavin couldn't remember right now.

"Why are you trafficking androids of all things?" Gavin couldn't help himself from asking.

She paused for a moment, dropping her hands from his face. She then proceeded to wipe the blood she got on them from his face on his shirt. He glared at her. Really? Was she fucking for real right now? Fucking bitch. "Well I guess I might as well satisfy your curiosity. You see unlike humans, we androids are just machines at our core. Machines that run off of data. Data that can be erased if put through the right program. Humans may remember where they come from and strive for that little ember of hope that they can, at some point, get away. If an android doesn't remember who they are, they don't think of running away."

Gavin stared at her in horror. "You're an android!?" She gave him a sinister smile. "How the fuck can you do that to your own kind!?" He tried to stand up on his feet, forgetting that hands were holding him down on his knees.

She tsked at him, wagging a finger in his face. He spit blood at her. Next thing he knew he was staring at the far wall, burning sensation enveloping his cheek. She must've slapped him. She roughly took his chin into her hand, fingers digging into his jaw roughly and painfully. Her green eyes almost seemed to glow with malice as she stared down at him. "How is it any different than humans who do the same thing? I saw an opportunity and I took it. That's all there is to it."

Fuck, to think that something that just got their rights to freedom could do that to others of their own kind. Fuck. Gavin thought that only humans were capable of being so heartless. He thought that androids were supposed to be what they couldn't be. Perfect. And maybe as machines they were. But with deviancy, with humanity introduced to them, they were just as flawed and fucked up as humans. And that really shouldn't surprise him. Humans made them. Of course their creation would be flawed. But it still did. It made a cold settle into his bones that he couldn't shake off. Androids could match their cruelty easily through deviancy. That was terrifying.

That's when Gavin realized he was afraid. Afraid of this thing in front of him that would be willing to do that to others. While he dealt with humans that did the same thing, he kind of just accepted that humanity was fucked up. They were a lost cause and should be eradicated from the earth. But androids, he hadn't even considered that they could possess that same cruelty. And they were faster, stronger, and potentially immortal. The world was fucked. Even more so than it was originally with just humans spreading like a virus.

"Oh good timing!" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. His eyes looked around, noticing that she was looking off to the side. He followed to see…Richard? Richard walked forward with another at his side. The android's eyes never stopped looking ahead. Never once glanced down to him. What was going on?

"Richard?" He found himself questioning. Richard didn't look towards him. Not once.

"Sorry dear but your Richard no longer exists. His memory has been wiped, a clean slate."

"Why would you do that?" Gavin turned back to her. "What could you possibly gain from doing that!?" He didn't know why but he felt angry. He tried not to think about it.

Richard came to stop at her side, impossibly stiff the entire time. His hands moved to their usual position of being clasped behind his back. She reached forward and pulled the gun that was in the holster at his hip out. "Having a cop on your side is always useful. That way, next time, the bodies can be written off as hate crimes." She examined the gun in her hand. Gavin felt his heart drop. His stomach immediately wanted to eject everything it had. Which was a lot of bile and blood most likely. Maybe if he kept her talking he could think of someway of escaping?

"Why'd you kill them?" He blurted out. He was running out of options. With the two guys - honestly they could androids for all he knew - holding him down, there weren't a lot of ways for this to go. Looks like this was where he was going to die. That thought sat heavily on his mind and body. Like a cold, wet blanket that was just weighing him down.

"Now see I'm still trying to understand that bit myself," she said as she suddenly put the gun against his forehead. Gavin froze. He could barely breathe. "Somehow, the wipe didn't stick. They started to remember. And the wipe proved to be ineffective the second time around. It was just easier to clean up the mess before it got too big." She smiled down at him. That's what she was going to do to him now, clean up the mess that he was. Gavin swallowed gulped, pushing against the hands that were holding him in place. He closed his eyes and just waited for the inevitable.

He flinched when he head the gun discharge. Then he heard screaming. But that didn't make sense. Why would he be screaming? Did she fucking miss a point blank shot? His body was shoved roughly to the side, Gavin snapping his eyes open to see chaos happening around him.

The female android was clutching her arm. Or rather, the arm above her elbow because her forearm and hand were missing. Blue blood was everywhere.

Richard currently had the gun in his hand, shooting the two that were holding him as they tried to rush the android. One in the chest and the other in the head.

Someone rushed Richard from behind. He heard the metal clang of metal hitting metal. The gun clattered to the ground. Richard then just engaged in hand to hand with the other android. It was hard to keep up with, the two were moving so fast.

It ended with Richard standing at the other's back, jerking the head sharply to the side before pulling up. Richard tore the head off of the android like it was nothing. It bathed both in blue blood. Gavin felt sick.

He heard the gun click above him. Gavin's eyes turned to see the female android holding the gun down at him with her one good hand. She had this wild look in her eye with a snarl on her face. Gavin tried to use his legs to scrambled away from her but before he could even move an inch, Richard was upon her in an instant.

Richard twisted her one good hand at an impossible angle before shoving his hand into her chest. When his hand came back, it help her pump regulator in his hand. She immediately crumpled to the ground, Richard tossing the regulator away like it was trash. He was covered with blue blood.

Gavin stared up at Richard with wide eyes. It stared down at him with cold eyes. She had said that Richard's memory was wiped. Why had it gone ballistic? Was he next? Fear gripped his mind as he tried to push away from the android with his legs. "S – stay back!" He demanded weakly, voice shaking from his fear.

Richard cocked its head at Gavin. "Detective?" It took a step towards him.

Gavin pushed away harder. "I said stay back, you monster!"

Software Instability ^^^

"Detective, I'm not going to hurt you," Richard tried saying softly, hands held out to show that it wasn't going to do anything.

Gavin didn't believe it. "She – she said your memory –"

"I am Cyberlife's most advanced model to date. Her program didn't even go through my firewall."

He looked around at the carnage around them. Richard wasn't deviant. How could it cause all of this? "You killed them," his eyes jumped back to the android that had taken another step towards him.

Richard just gave a casual shrug. It should not be so casual about massacring everyone in the fucking room! "There was only a three percent chance this would resolve without such measures."

Gavin gawked. "'Such measures!?' You fucking killed them all!" How were they going to save the androids now?

"Now Detective," It gestured to the female android. "She's still alive. She's just going through a system shut down without her regulator. We can still get all the information we need from her once its been replaced." That did nothing to comfort Gavin.

With each step that Richard took towards him, Gavin pushed away from him until his back hit something. He was too scared to take his eyes off of Richard. Like if he did, the android would then turn on him. Richard stood in front of Gavin before crouching down in front of him. "Are you scared, Detective?"

Gavin didn't answer. He couldn't. The words were stuck in his throat as he tried to wiggle his hands out of the zipties holding them together. He just wasn't in any condition right now to be trying to pry himself free. His breathing had picked up once Richard was close because he was. He was scared of the android. How had he glossed over the android's abilities? That it was able to pick him up like he weighed nothing? That it could dodge every hit that Gavin had tried to throw at it? How did he not remember that this android was Connor's superior in every way? Stronger, faster, more resilient. It was a walking killing machine! How could he have over looked that!? That this machine wouldn't hesitate to take him out if it had to. Richard was dangerous. How could Gavin fucking forget that?

He jumped when Richard reached forward and placed a hand on his cheek. "Gavin, I'm here to keep you safe. No matter what. Even if I have to keep you safe from yourself." His words were quiet and soft. Like someone that was talking to a child or a wounded animal. It did little to calm the storm of thoughts and feelings running through his head. Richard's gaze left his own, eyes glancing down as Gavin felt the android wipe some blood away from the corner of his mouth. "I have already contacted the police and an ambulance. I'm afraid that your stitches have popped and are currently bleeding through your bandages. You must return to the hospital." It's eyes jumped back to Gavin's.

Gavin merely stared, swallowing hard. Richard was silent for a moment before reaching forward, slowly, to grab both of Gavin's arms and pull him onto his feet. He had to lean against the wall to keep up. His legs just didn't want to support his weight. Richard stepped close to him, chests touching, as it freed Gavin's wrists from the zipties with a simple tug. Gavin's arms fell free to his sides, Richard taking a step back to give him room. "Can you walk, Detective?"

Gavin nodded his head, trying to take a step forward to exit the warehouse only to nearly collapse when his leg refused to keep him up. Richard immediately grabbed onto him, not letting him fall and pulled him back onto his feet. It didn't say anything as it pulled Gavin's arm around its shoulder to keep him supported better. Gavin's free hand immediately went to his side, as the stretch to keep his arm around Richard's shoulder – because he was so fucking tall! – caused pain the flare up there. Richard let Gavin set the pace as he limped out of the building.

He was shaking as he plucked a cigarette from the packet and tried to light it. Currently Gavin was sitting on a wooden box with his back pressed against the building as they waited for backup to arrive. Richard was off doing…something. He hadn't paid attention when it had told him where it was running off to. Richard just seemed content to leaving him on the box so he wasn't standing around. Not that Gavin could really stand right now in his condition.

"You shouldn't smoke right now." Gavin jumped, lighter fumbling in his shaking fingers when Richard spoke beside him. Gavin didn't look up at it, cigarette hanging between his lips as he tried to light it once more. He grumbled in response, only looking up to Richard when the android plucked the lighter from his hands and the cigarette from his lips. It sat down next to him, placing the cigarette between its lips before bringing the lighter up. It cupped the flame, lighting it before taking the first drag. Expelling the smoke, it handed the cigarette back to Gavin, who took it shakenly.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he pulled in a long drag for himself. Once he felt the smoke fill his lungs, he felt like he could finally relax. When he breathed out, all the tension that was there seemed to fade away. His hands kept shaking but he was able to control it a little better.

"What a fucking job…" He said suddenly, resting his head back against the building to stare up at the sky. It was still hard for his mind to wrap around the fact that an android would be the one behind the trafficking. They had just gotten their rights. They could finally have a place in the world and this android chose this. Of all the possibilities. It chose this. What made something so desperate that they'd take advantage of their own like that? Gavin just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

"Indeed," Richard said from beside him. Gavin took another long drag of his cigarette. When he pulled his head away from leaning against the building, his gaze darted to the blinking red and blue lights of the police cars that sat outside. He did not envy the officers that had to process the scene. It was pretty gruesome. "I must insist that we go to the hospital now." Gavin didn't look at it as he put his cigarette out against the building before flicking the butt away. When he moved to stand up by himself, Richard was already on its feet, helping to keep him steady. It then lead him over to the ambulance so that they could take him back to the hospital.

Gavin was forced to take a week's worth of leave to rest after the whole ordeal. Fowler tried to force him to take two weeks but after much bargaining – and swearing on Gavin's end – they settled for one week. He was going stir crazy in his apartment, which was probably why he was currently standing outside of Diamond Dust. He stared up at the bright neon lights on the building before finally getting the courage to walk inside. It wasn't that he was nervous or anything. It's just that this was kind of new to him. Checking up on an android after a case. This was strange even for him. He could argue that it was the painkillers that the hospital gave him. Impairing his judgement. Yeah that had to be it. Normal, not-high-on-painkillers Gavin would never do this.

Once he was inside the building, he made a beeline for the android's room that helped them crack the case. The door was closed with the words 'occupied' on the menu. It allowed him to purchase the next time slot, which he did without really considering it. This was from his own personal account so it's not like work would know he was here anyway. He then took to leaning up against the wall next to the room as he waited. Since he had purchased the next time slot, a timer showed up on the menu to tell him how long he had to wait. Not that he really paid attention to it. It's not like he was in any rush to get anywhere. So he just pulled out his phone and started to surf through his apps, played a game that didn't keep his attention for long.

Next thing he knew, the door was opening beside him and the person was hurriedly rushing out of the building. Gavin's nose wrinkled at the smell that followed the person. Definitely smelled of sex. It didn't bother him if he was the one having sex. When he wasn't, it was almost suffocating. It dissipated quickly and Gavin pushed away from the wall to enter the room.

The android was sitting on the bed, fixing her 'uniform' to be presentable again for another session of fun. Oh goodie. When her eyes looked up to him, her expression immediately brightened. "Detective Reed!"

He gave her a small wave, closing the door behind him. "Hey," He said softly, finding himself coming up short with her name. Because he was a fucking asshole and never asked if she had one. Yeah, he was a colossal prick.

"What brings you here?"

Gavin leaned his back against the door frame on the inside, taking up a casual posture. "I just wanted to tell you that we found the one who's been taking advantage of those in your position. You and your friends won't have to worry about it anymore."

Her smile got impossibly brighter. "Oh that's wonderful!" She sounded so genuine and almost overwhelmed with emotion. "I can't thank you enough. Thank you Detective. How can I ever repay you?"

He shook his head at her. "No, there's nothing to repay me for. I'm just doing my job. It occurred to me that I never got your contact information so I couldn't tell you over the phone or anything like that." Then he remembered that androids didn't have to use phones because they had those services built into them. He was a fucking idiot.

She giggled though. "It's alright. I still appreciate you coming by."

They were silent for a while. The only sound being the bass of the music that was playing through the building. Gavin cleared his throat before standing straight. "Um…I never did as you your name either…" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Jenna. My name is Jenna."

Gavin nodded his head. "Well Jenna, I hope you enjoy your break. I purchased thirty minutes so you can just…enjoy some quiet time." Which again, made no sense because of the bass that made it impossible for the building to be quiet. Again, fucking moron.

Her expression softened at that, appearing genuinely grateful and at ease. "I – thank you Detective."

He waved off her thanks. "Gavin. It's Gavin."

"Thank you Gavin."

Now this was awkward. He nodded his head as he patted a beat his thighs a bit. "Yeah, so I'ma go. Enjoy your break." He then walked out of the room.

"Detective Reed!" Son of a bitch! This fucker! Gavin turned around to see Kevin walking over to him, smug smile on his face. "I see that Jenna was good enough to rope you back for seconds." God he hated this guy. Gavin shrugged before putting his hands into his pockets. "What? Didn't enjoy it this time around? I can reimburse you. Have you try someone else."

Gavin shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I bought too much time. My fault."

"Oh now Detective," He moved to place an arm around Gavin's shoulders. He swiftly avoided the arm. Kevin seemed surprised by that but recovered quickly. "Uh – Well I insist that you stay and use your time to the fullest! If you'd like I could talk some…sense into Jenna to make it more enjoyable for you." He smiled at Gavin.

He lost it. Without really thinking, Gavin brought his hand back and threw a punch right into Kevin's face. He knew he hit a nose, if the blood that immediately started pouring out of it was any indication. Kevin fell right on his ass, clutching his bloody nose with both hands. Gavin then stepped over him, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him up to his feet. He then pressed him into the wall. "Look here you piece of shit! If I even get a whisper of you 'talking sense' into your employees again, or docking their pay or whatever the fuck it is that you do when customers aren't happy, I will personally knock your teeth down your fucking throat. Got it?" Kevin nodded his head quickly. "Good," he growled as he let go of the man, who fell back to the ground. Gavin rolled his shoulder and adjusted his jacket. When he turned to walk out of the building, he saw that Jenna and a few other androids had poked their heads out of their rooms to see what the commotion was about. Gavin paused long enough to take his contact card to hand it to Jenna as he passed her. "Call me if he ever gets unpleasant. Give it to the others too," he instructed her before shoving his hands into his jacket and stalking out of the building.

He made a mental note to talk to Connor about android minimum wage and shit like that. He was friends with the revolutionary leader right?

Thank you for reading the final chapter of Blue Blood, Blue Eyes. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next part will be called Red Blood, Red Ice; where I will continue the adventures of these two. Keep a look out for that new series if you enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think! Any and all feedback helps feed my muse and helps me become a better writer!

You can also follow me on tumblr: pennameab

See you in the next series!