Chapter Two: Baby Steps
Hank made a call with Jeffrey before going to sleep. It was the least he could do. It was barely day one but he owed him a call every night. He might call him in the afternoons too, if it was necessary.
"Please don't tell me you spent the entire day drinking," Jeffrey said. Hank could practically see him running his hand down his face.
"No," Hank said. He shook his head. "I did drink a little but not a whole lot."
"Did you discover anything yet?" Jeffrey asked.
"Nah, I didn't find anything out of the ordinary," he replied. He scowled. "Did you expect I would? I've only been on the ship for a day and just barely that."
"Not exactly. I just figured I need to nag you just in case you forget your objective," Jeffrey said and Hank could hear an almost teasing tone.
He wished Jeffrey could see him roll his eyes. "I know what I gotta do. Find the Sterns and stop them."
"And call me immediately when you find them so we can send back-up," Jeffrey said, strictly.
"Think you could get back-up here in time?" Hank asked, sarcastically. "There are other officers on the ship, too, even if they aren't actually involved in this."
Jeffrey sighed. "Just be careful."
"I'll be careful. Don't nag me," Hank said, glaring at the wall.
Even if Jeffrey did mean well, it was annoying at the moment. He wasn't a child and he could take care of himself. He also had his revolver on him, because there was no way in hell he was leaving that behind. That was the one thing he could get away with, unlike drinking. He also promised himself not to use it for Russian Roulette.
"Goodnight, Jeff."
"Goodnight, Hank."
Hank hung up and lazily tossed his cell phone on the bedside table. He reached over and turned the lamp off. Then he fell asleep.
XXX
He didn't really feel like getting out of bed the next morning. It wasn't even just because of a hang-over this time. He was just too comfortable. Who wanted to leave these beds? They were heavenly. He needed to get this kind of bed in his own house. It would do wonders for his back and health in general.
But he also couldn't ignore the sun beaming in through his round window. He stupidly forgot to close the curtains before going to sleep. Part of him hoped it would just get cloudy while he slept so he wouldn't have to deal with it. But of course not. Of course not.
"Jesus…"
Hank rolled out of bed and already started to get ready for work. He reminded himself not to go to the bar. Save that for later, hopefully after he got some information about the Sterns. It would be his reward. He would see about bringing some whiskey back to his room, too. He had to use the mini-fridge somehow.
He put his revolver in his coat pocket and left the room, making sure to lock it.
One of the places he wanted to check out were the lower decks. There was a higher chance of the Sterns operating down there compared to the upper decks. He also needed to find a way to ask around about the Sterns. He could do it. He just had to remember to remain inconspicuous.
He should've asked Jeffrey for more information regarding these people. Maybe he should've brought his computer with him to do that research too. He wasn't going to use any computers the ship had; that would blow everything if someone were to walk up behind him and call him out.
Hank decided to explore the upper deck first. From his last undercover jobs, he discovered going straight for the jugular, the lower decks in this case, wasn't a good idea. He got jumped and had it not been for close security, he probably wouldn't have gotten out of that situation alive. Rather, he probably would've been alive but crippled.
What he liked to call the main hall, was bustling with people. It gave him a headache already. Something he kept in the back of his mind was to also see if there were any strange markings on someone. That was usually a good enough sign for him that they were involved in a group.
Hank walked up to the snack bar and picked up a plate and gathered some snacks. He needed something to fill his stomach, if he couldn't have any alcohol to drink. It was in the middle of his snacking when the drama started because of course he couldn't snack in peace. He put his plate down and walked to the crowd.
A certain brunette was on his knees and rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed like a lost puppy.
"Kid, watch where you're going!" a man scolded.
"Sorry…" the kid, Connor, Hank remembered, mumbled.
Hank reached down and grabbed his arm, hauling him up from the floor. "Are you always this clumsy?"
"Oh, hello, Mister Anderson." Connor smiled.
"What did I say last night?"
"Hank."
"Good boy." Then Hank looked and saw that the two of them were still getting stares. He scowled at them and waved his hand. "Go away, show's over."
There were some murmurs but then the crowd started to go away and get back to doing whatever it was they were doing. He didn't fail to notice that there was a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, giving him a strange look. Hank glared at him for a moment to keep his appearance in his memory.
He was blonde, pale and had blue eyes. He dressed casually but so did Hank to keep attention away from himself. When Blondie noticed the glare, he turned and started to walk away. For all Hank knew, he was probably just pissed at Connor for getting in the way but there was nothing wrong with being careful.
"Hank?"
Connor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked down at him. "Did you know that blonde man?"
Connor blinked. He looked past Hank to try and see but Blondie was pretty far away; he probably wouldn't recognize unless he was up close again. Connor looked back up at Hank and shrugged. "I don't think so. I think he was just upset I got in the way."
Hank stared at him with narrowed eyes. Connor tilted his head and looked too innocent for his own good. He wondered how much trouble this kid was going to get into. First he almost fell off the ship and then he was pissing off strangers. Fucking teenagers.
He went back to his snack plate. He scowled when he heard footsteps following him. He looked back. Connor was right on his heels.
"What? Shouldn't you go be with your parents or friends or something?"
Connor shrugged. "Can I tell you the truth?"
"I would prefer if you did," Hank said, sounding a bit too snarky.
Connor looked around. He rubbed his hands together before grabbing Hank's arm lightly. "Can we go outside?"
Hank nodded. Then he let Connor lead him outside. He led Hank all the way to the bow where not too many people were at. It was a beautiful day so people were still out and chatting and smiling and having a good time.
Connor let go of Hank's arm and leaned against the rails. Hank wanted to pull him away already, not trusting the kid but he managed to keep himself under control. He looked at Connor expectantly. Connor looked down and worried his lip.
"My parents don't know I'm here," he finally said. "No one does."
"So you ran from home," Hank confirmed.
Connor sighed.
"Do your parents abuse you?"
Connor's eyes widened. "No! No, they don't abuse me," he answered quickly. "But they're barely around. So I wanted to give them some karma...See how they like their kid not being with them."
Hank nodded. "Thanks for being honest with me."
Connor looked down. He seemed dejected for some reason and Hank had no idea as to why. Other than the fact that sharing that kind of information could be uncomfortable. They only just met. It was a miracle Hank managed to get this out of him. Maybe it had been on the kid's chest for far too long.
He wanted to see if he could get more from him. Not too much, but he wanted to know where he heard the name Kamski before.
"You said your last name is Kamski, right? I feel like-"
"Shh!" Connor hissed, waving his hands. "You can't just say that! Shh!"
Hank blinked. He didn't need to have his ear pressed against Connor's chest to know how hard his heart was beating. Connor gripped onto the fabric of Hank's coat and stared at him with his eyes wide again. He shook.
"Don't say that…"
Hank nodded. He raised his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, I'm sorry. I won't say it again."
Connor deflated and let out a long sigh. His grip loosened and he let go of Hank's coat. He stepped back. "Thank you."
Maybe Connor was on a secret mission of his own. Well, he probably saw it as that. Hank saw it more so as a teenager being rebellious. All kids ran away from home at least once or stayed out late at night. It seemed like it was Connor's turn.
Hank instinctively ruffled Connor's hair. Connor tilted his head. Now it was Hank's turn to step back. He hadn't done that in a long time. He looked off to the side, glaring at the beautiful view.
He had a job to do. He couldn't hang around Connor all day. Not only because it would probably mess up his job, but it would also be dangerous for Connor. He didn't want to be responsible for another child's death, stranger or not. That was one thing he refused to do. He didn't want to make that phone call to the kid's parents.
"I got something to do," Hank said, looking back at Connor. "Stay out of trouble."
"Maybe we can talk later?"
Hank sighed, exasperated. "Maybe."
He didn't want to. He would rather be alone and finish this job as fast as possible.
"Bye for now!"
XXX
Who Hank wanted to find again was Blondie. He had a few questions to ask him but had to make sure not to, again, sound too suspicious. At the very least, he wanted to watch him from a distance and see the kind of people he hung around. Talking and seeing his friends could and would tell him a lot.
The problem was that there were so many people on this goddamn ship and there were a lot of blondes. He tried to pay attention to the eyes the most. Something he noticed about Blondie was that his eyes seemed tired. The bags under them weren't too bad but it was a detail Hank found important.
Soon Hank found himself in the ballroom. Christ, he thought, this ship really is huge if it had a ballroom. He wouldn't be surprised if there was a pool hidden away somewhere. All of this luxury made Hank more and more confused. Why would the Sterns want to take over this ship and make it one for attack? How delusional were they?
He wasn't drunk enough to deal with this. He went straight for the table where an assortment of snacks and drinks were at. He poured himself some punch and leaned against the wall.
A few minutes later is when he got his lucky break.
"I heard the Stern Institute is getting more active," a woman said.
"Where the hell did you hear that? They've been silent for months; maybe more than that," a man responded, sounding annoyed.
"No, seriously! I read online that they're starting to come back to the public."
So, the Sterns have been in hiding, then. Or maybe, like Hank, they decided to lose touch with reality.
"The Stern Institute doesn't waste time with peasants like us, who are you trying to fool?"
So, the Sterns held themselves high in society.
"Fine, don't believe me."
Then, the couple walked away from each other, both grumbling things that Hank didn't bother picking up on. He got what he wanted. These were things he would have to confirm with Jeffrey but he was glad he had something to go off of.
Now he could reward himself with a real drink. Whiskey.
XXX
"So, where is your cabin?"
Hank had no idea how this happened. One minute he was heading to the bar and the next minute he was in the dining room having dinner with Connor. He didn't even realize that much time had passed.
When he saw Connor sitting at a table looking lost, Hank went over to ask just what was going on. Kid said he was thinking about ordering dinner. Hank then found himself sitting across from him. Now, the two of them were waiting for their meals to arrive.
"I'm on the middle deck, room 28," Hank replied. He took a sip of his root beer. He thought of asking for some alcohol but he didn't want to be a bad influence. "Why?"
"I was thinking…" Connor stared at his hands. "If I get bored can I come visit?"
Hank shook his head. "No, that's not a good idea."
He had work to do. Now that he had information, the calls with Jeffrey could be longer the more they discussed. He didn't want Connor listening in on the conversation. He also thought it was dangerous for the kid. Anything could happen, after all.
Connor huffed.
"Don't you have your own cabin?" Hank asked.
"I do, but it's just me in there."
"Sorry, kiddo."
"You don't sound sorry," Connor grumbled.
Then he attempted puppy-eyes but Hank knew better than to fall for that. Cole used to try and do tricks like that to get his way. Hank knew how to evade it. He looked away and stared off at nothing.
Connor leaned back in his chair. "Thanks for treating me with dinner."
"Sure."
This was going to be a one time thing, Hank would make sure of that.
Author's Note: I feel like I'm breaking DBH AU rules by having Connor be a Kamski xD Almost everyone who does human AUs have him be a Stern or give him no last name and here I am, making him a Kamski.
Also, I'll let ya'll figure out which 'Blondie' this is, considering there are two mains in DBH.
That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.
Thanks for reading!
~Kurosaki