Chapter 8/10: Bastille

"You're too close to this, Reed." - Richard Perkins

...in which Gavin is removed from the case for being too invested, and disobeys the higher-ups anyway, bc of course he does.

A/N: Bastille = prison.

GAVIN

~ MAY 19TH, 2040 * AM 03:01 ~

Slamming the car door shut, Gavin's steps were filled with purpose as he set course for the Andronikovs' main night club entrance. He grasped the diode around his neck. For the first time, the constant presence of neon blue left him uneasy.

Just after Mikhail left with Nines in tow, Gavin had given Eleanor a call. Informed her that they had been compromised. He didn't go into detail, however. Now when the Andronikovs knew about the suite, staying was like playing with fire, the inevitability of getting burned. For all he knew, they could've blown the hotel up today. Act when Gavin had let his guard down and was lulled into a false sense of security as he had been given three days to leave. Nevertheless, this wasn't his first rodeo with crime bosses.

Gavin knew better than to take their word.

A lot could happen in an hour. Mere minutes, even seconds, could be the difference between life and death. Eleanor was an android and she was in perfect condition. They could've scrapped for parts, too, if it pleased them. Thus Gavin dropped everything and headed for her first. Not even Perkins knew at this point as he didn't want to risk them finding out before getting to her, and naturally, it wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to having. Perkins berating him on incompetence would be a perfect example of irony and Gavin didn't have the patience for it.

He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to register that he nearly collided with a familiar face on his way up. Seeing Eleanor was a relief. She was safe and sound sporting a half-amused look.

"Hey, sis."

"Hey."

Eleanor was a hugger just like her girlfriend, so he expected the incoming embrace. He welcomed it as always. It was only he was about to return the favor by leaning into it that his abdomen screamed its disapproval, resulting in his soft groan, palming the wound through the fabric. She immediately recoiled, her eyes wide.

Gavin cringed. "I, uh... I might've gotten shot."

"Wait, you what?" she exclaimed, not really a question. Tina and Nines would've called him an idiot. Eleanor, however, had a different approach. A scan surely had her locate the wound as she put a gentle hand beside the damage. Eyes remained there and he wouldn't be surprised if she had infrared vision like Nines did. "At least there is no lead left." She took her hand back and leveled him with a concerned look. "Did you at least take any antibiotics or pain relievers before you headed out?"

"Just kicked in."

"...and you started driving before it took effect."

"Had to make sure you were safe."

Her features turned fonder. "Although I appreciate your concern, how do you think I'd feel if you bled out on me?" she asked, and Gavin couldn't argue with that. She started pushing him in the direction of the car. "C'mon. Don't make me carry you."

"Sheesh. Thanks, mom. Fuck, you were the one who decided to get involved with the cool kids," he joked.

"I got involved with Tina Chen, Gavin. I didn't realize you two were a package deal. Unlike you, she actually has a sense of self-preservation," she teased back, Gavin chortling as he turned on his heel to face the direction he was walking. The lighthearted mood didn't last and the inevitable question emerged. The inevitable question that he had been avoiding. "Where's Nines?"

He stopped then, his jaw clenching.

Naturally, she took note. Her curious features were replaced with concern in an instant. Gavin pocketed a hand, eyes falling to the asphalt, his brows tight. She stepped to his side and grasped his bicep to gain his attention.

Gavin gazed at her over his shoulder. "I'll tell you in the car, yeah?"

Albeit hesitant, she nodded and let go.

"At least let me drive," she said, and he saw no use arguing. Gavin handed her the keys. "Where to?"

"The place where Perkins' guys are holed up."

Gavin would only trust his car to a handful of people and Eleanor was one of them. If anyone as much as scratched her, they'd be dead to him, and Gavin's love for fixing cars did nothing to reduce the fallout.

Letting Eleanor take the wheel, he plopped into the passenger seat. The longer he waited to tell Perkins, the pissier he would become, and thus Gavin pulled out his phone and put it on speakers after dialing his number. Smacking two birds with one stone. That way, he wouldn't have to repeat himself twice, and instead spend the remaining time to come up with a plan.

As the beeping emerged, Eleanor got the car moving.

Perkins shortly picked up. "What's this about, Reed?"

"Change of plans. The Andronikovs know more than they let on. They're telling us to drop the case."

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," came the murmured response, exasperation clear. He heard him exchange a few muffled words with his team. Gavin's phone got a message. "Meet me at the address sent to you. We'll be there in ten. This isn't over."

"Why not just meet up wherever the fuck you are now?" he asked, frowning.

Nevertheless, there was pure silence on the other end. His frown deepened. Believing the connection had gone out, he extended his hand to look at the screen, seeing the 'call ended' message. Offended, Gavin's jaw fell open. Prick. Perkins had hung up on him, and although it didn't come as a surprise, that didn't make it any less offensive. So much for the 'two birds with one stone' thing.

Gavin sighed irritably and pocketed his phone. "Fucking-A."

"So what's the plan?" Eleanor asked.

"We're meeting with Dick Perkins and the Powerpuff Girls down the road. Fifteen-minute drive. Prick didn't even have the decency to say why."

"Here's the opportunity for filling me in on everything," she said, before hesitating. Her priorities were clear. "Is Nines hurt?"

"Yeah, no, none of that. He's fine. Kinda," he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "Nines got a call a while ago to meet with the CEO, and at around 12:15 a.m., his diode went red. I tried to get in contact with him the moment I took note, but when he picked up... fuck, he acted weird. As if he wanted to say something but couldn't."

"Like he had a gun to his head."

Eyes narrowing, Gavin looked at her.

"That's pretty fucking specific, but... yeah."

"I overheard some employees talking when I was doing my rounds. Something about capturing an android and having him at gunpoint. Worst case scenario, it was Nines, but... well, I'm sure you'd be the first to know if anything happened to him," she said, a sadness to her eyes. Eleanor fell into a pause. "If I had contacted you, maybe I could've prevented you from getting hurt -"

"Hey, it's fine. These guys capture androids by the dozens. No fucking way you could've known it was him. Besides, this isn't the first time I've been shot. Comes with the territory."

She took a deep breath, nodding.

Her guilt was clear and he would've hugged her if they weren't currently seated in a car.

"How did you find out what happened?"

"After a couple hours, he came back to the suite. Nines. Didn't even get a moment to think before he pulled a gun on me. Wasn't long before Mikhail himself showed up with that smug fucking aura of his."

She snapped her attention to him. "Wait, Nines did that?"

"Those sick fucks wiped his memories."

Her face immediately falling in his peripheral vision, she directed her attention back to the road, hands drawing tight around the wheel.

"Did he make backups?" she asked, tone careful. Gavin didn't answer. "I'm so sorry, Gav."

Gavin just stared ahead. "Doesn't change that we need to get him back."

"...and we will."

Usually, optimism would piss him off. Too unrealistic. It was one of the reasons why it took months before he could even look in Connor's general direction without scowling in disgust. Yet he couldn't be mad. If anything, he had rendered himself focused, his one goal clear. Getting their lives back to normal seemed like a distant dream at this point. Whenever Nines took a risk with him in close proximity, Gavin always lashed out in aftermath, and he suspected this time would be no different.

He didn't allow his emotions to cloud his judgment. Not until it was safe to do so. Wasn't it for him spending years upon years dealing with all kinds of shit, he wouldn't be able to pull through.

Gavin was 37. Had a worse childhood than most. He supposed that was what made him so strong today.

Pulling up the car on a parking lot, Perkins - hands behind his back - stood ready with his team. Gavin braced himself for whatever bullshit was about to be spewed. It must've shown on his demeanor as a hand was shortly on his wrist. He looked to her, Eleanor sending him an encouraging smile, before he turned his eyes back ahead.

He reached for the handle. "Let's get this over with."

They exited, car doors shutting, and approached. Perkins rose his chin. The look was not much unlike the look Nines sent him the first day at the DPD. Unapologetically arrogant with a stick up his ass.

"Well?" Perkins said, straight to the point.

"Fuck, at least buy me dinner first," he joked in a deadpan tone, scoffing as he elicited no reaction. "Right. Forgot you were Mr. Sunshine himself." Gavin briefly looked to Eleanor over his shoulder only to see her big eyes - without words - asking him to stop pushing his luck. Perkins regained his attention. "As I said... the Andronikovs knew more than they let on, so before you ask, no. We didn't fuck anything up. They got their hands on Nines a couple hours ago."

"Right," Perkins said, a condescending smirk forming on his lips "...and you didn't think of informing the FBI immediately, is that it?"

"To your information, dipshit, I had to get to our inside contact," he replied, scowling as he gestured to Eleanor. "Maybe you've already forgotten, but these people earn off killing androids. Chances are they've already hacked into our communications, so giving you a fucking call could've given them the all-clear to off said contact before I was able to warn her."

"Considering your track record, I would assume you'd know better than to put this... android... above the lives of humans."

"I'm not putting her or anyone else above anyone!" he snapped, having lost his patience. Perkins remained unbothered with those narrowed eyes of his. "You've got an entire fucking team at your back in case shit hits the fan. She was on her own in the middle of a war zone. Of-fucking-course I'd go to her first. Like it or not, but she's a civilian under our protection. No need to get your panties in a twist because she's made of plastic and you can't see further than the tip of your own fucking nose."

"Watch your tone, Reed," he replied, lids near closed over a piercing gaze. "You're too close to this. It's about time you stepped away and let the professionals handle the work."

"Oh! Oh... professionals, that it?" he repeated, brows shooting up in a mocking manner. "Tell that to the failed Jericho raid."

"The difference is that the FBI knows where our priorities lie. That android is useful, true... but it needs to be destroyed before the Andronikovs can get anything out of it," he said, filling Gavin with dread. Perkins turned on his heel and set course for his car. "You're dismissed, Reed. You've fucked up enough letting a crime boss get his hands on the most advanced weapon CyberLife ever created. Go home. That's an order."

He's not just a weapon, he's a living fucking being! he was ready to snap, but Gavin knew better. Making enemies with higher-ups was never a good idea. Not to mention that he'd give away that he was willing to step on toes in order to get Nines back.

Gavin would take a million disciplinary warnings to save him. Although he highly doubted Perkins was petty enough to go out of his way in order to ruin Gavin's life - not to mention too busy to care about a singular man - he didn't want to take any chances. Gavin also knew that he had Perkins' respect and that didn't come easily. That went all the way back to 2038 when Gavin, with the help of Nines, located Jericho and had him informed. They were the reason Perkins found the android headquarters in the first place on such short notice.

That didn't mean Gavin didn't understand his viewpoint regardless of how extreme it was.

Nines was a powerful weapon and there was no use splintering that. A weapon that happened to have his own thoughts and feelings. Hopefully one day, Perkins would see that. The fact that he had allowed Nines to be part of the investigation in the first place was a clear indicator that he hadn't gone too far off the deep end.

His situation was not much unlike Gavin's. He could still remember how pissed off he was at the higher-ups for letting an android into a police precinct while the uprising was going on. How people, like Hank, allowed said android into the interrogation room in order to get something out of a deviant when he knew damn well they could telepathically communicate. For all they knew back then, Connor could simply have given Shaolin the cell-access code and help him escape police custody.

The RK800s and RK900s were once narcs that worked for - and reported everything to - the supremacist organization CyberLife. Plain and simple. They were designed to make people like them so said people would let down their guard.

Time and time again during the android uprising, Connor had proven he couldn't be trusted, the clearest example being when he trespassed in the DPD's archive room and tampered with evidence. Gavin would've had every right to gun him down back then. Being wary of them - even now - was a rational mindset.

Frankly, Perkins' dislike for Nines could have nothing to do about him being an android. It was an interest based on national security and androids like Nines threatened it. It took days for Hank to accept Connor and it took Gavin months to accept Nines. Were it not for them being forced to closely work with said androids, on both ends, chances are they would still have that same cynical mindset today. Perkins had yet to be convinced that he was one of the good guys.

Regardless of his understanding of the viewpoint, Gavin wasn't about to allow him to send his SWAT team in an attempt to nuke Nines.

~ MAY 19TH, 2040 * AM 06:25 | NOW ~

The motel room they had rented for the night under new names - separate beds and bathroom included as they had money to spare - was more of the price range that he was used to. The Moscow suite had been too pompous for his taste as he preferred the simpler things. That aside, they also had to lay low, so renting another one of those big hotels would likely furrow some brows. The Andronikovs were surely trying to record his every movement and there was nothing he could do about it but remain vigilant.

Reaching for the coffee to his side, hand curled around his fifth mug before moving it in the motion about to take a sip. The beige porcelain barely even elevated from the table before the lack of liquid had him reconsider. His sigh was heavy as he put it back down. Leaning back from the pad he was holding, his eyes struggled to keep open as he pressed the tip of a thumb and forefinger to his caruncles.

Perkins had told him to go home, yes, but Gavin refused to leave the country without Nines at his heel. He tried to test his luck by sending Eleanor back to Detroit, but she refused to go anywhere without him.

The woman in question approached, lowering her body to the chair opposite him. Her delicate hands connected beneath her chin.

"The way you're overworking yourself, I worry I'll lose the both of you," she said, a worried smile heard on her lips. Eleanor cocked her head - a lock of her hair falling over an eye - as if trying to peek beneath the hand he still had raised. Enough to gain his attention, said hand dropped, Gavin leveling her with what he knew was a drained look. "What was that about Nines worrying about you 'resuming bad habits when he was away' as he eloquently put it before leaving for the Detroit SWAT?"

Gavin gave her the doe-eyes. "It was 'resuming bad habits the moment he stepped out the door,' actually."

"It's the same concept. He's away, isn't he? Yet here you are - resuming bad habits - this time by overworking yourself. Nines made sure you stopped doing that when he was present," she said, smirking. Gavin puffed a laugh. His eyes fell to the floor, his smile fading, but still there. Her still-connected hands moved to the table. "Although I would rather kindly suggest you get some rest, I will force you if I have to."

"Please don't," he replied, looking back up with feigned innocence. "Nines and Ti are already mean as fuck to me. Not you, too."

Eleanor hummed. "Glad we agree," she said, appearing relieved. Frankly, she would never forgive herself if she did force him. It simply wasn't who she was. "I'm serious, though... you should get some sleep. Please."

He supposed he wouldn't be of much help to Nines if he was sleep-deprived anyway.

Gavin rose to his feet.

"Wake me in two hours, yeah?"

Not answering, Eleanor gestured for one of the beds not much unlike the way she used to gesture visitors of the DPD inside the precinct. Gavin puffed a laugh and the knowing smile she gave him surely showed how she thought the exact same thing. Putting the pad down, he gave it one last look whilst letting eyes and fingertips linger, before dragging his feet over to the bed. He minded the gunshot damage. Gavin let his body fall into it, and the moment he hit the mattress, it wasn't long before he collapsed.

Sleep claimed him as if he had just returned from a drunken night out and he realized his last coffee had been empty for a long time.

~ MAY 19TH, 2040 * AM 10:12 | NOW ~

Blinking the sleep away, Gavin awoke, a mild grunt escaping him as he put an unintentional pressure on his side. He reached for the wound. Although he'd been shot many times in the past, this one hit deeper, the carrier of said gun being the one he trusted the most. It wasn't Nines' choice. He knew that. Yet, it was his hand, and he couldn't help but keep recalling back to when Amanda took control of that exact same hand and tried to put a bullet in Nines' skull before Gavin managed to intervene.

The incident had traumatized Nines, so he supposed that losing said memory would in a way feel like a relief. Gavin had never seen him more scared. More fearful of his life. That didn't change how he'd lost every happy memory, too.

Gavin reached for his phone on the nightstand. 10:12 a.m. His eyes closed as he let out a sigh.

It had been four hours.

Not two.

Dammit, El...

He couldn't be mad at her, though. It wasn't like she'd lied to him. She had specifically chosen not to answer when he suggested said wakeup. Regardless, there was a brief panic thinking she was gone before his eyes landed on her seated in one of the chairs. She appeared focused whilst staring ahead in a different direction than his. A hand was propped underneath her chin, her other elbow resting on the table surface, the hand attached to it balled into a fist. It was as if she hadn't even noticed him being awake.

"El," he tried, her immediately snapping attention. She blinked repeatedly, her back straightening, eyes wide only for a moment. Gavin puffed a half-hearted laugh. "Fuck, did I interrupt your stasis?"

She shook her head. "No, I... I was listening to a sound file I received an hour ago."

"Sound file?"

"It's from Nines."

His body froze solid.

Nevertheless, it didn't last.

Gavin's blood began to boil. "What, they're using him to send a fucking message?"

The nerve of these people was abysmal.

Pushing his body upright, he immediately regretted the harsh movement. Yet that wasn't his concern right now. Ignoring the pain, he set a straight course for her, Eleanor hacking into the datapad near her meanwhile. The screen showed only the sound waves and he could tell by that alone that the audio message was encrypted when he palmed the table with one hand.

"I don't have the decryption code, so I can't make it out."

"Why would they send us a message we can't even fucking hear?"

Eleanor bit into her thumb's nail. "I don't think they did."

Confusion furrowing his brow, Gavin opened his mouth only to close it again. It occurred to him. What she meant.

"You're staying Nines sent it on his own terms," he clarified, shifting. "How? They reset him long before you got that, El."

"Androids can schedule messages. Put them in a queue," she replied, realization dawning on Gavin's face. "Think of it as a... as a bomb. We choose whatever moment said bomb detonates. I infer he saw a window - an opportunity to contact us - before his memory was wiped and managed to schedule a message, but thanks to the Andronikovs' security, it was distorted in the process. Surely some kind of antivirus in their possession interrupted it from reaching us intact -"

Before she could finish, her LED flickered repeatedly at yellow. She was one of the androids who decided to keep it. For a moment, she appeared as if her breath had been knocked out of her, but she shortly recovered.

"El?" he tried, touching her shoulder. She blinked again.

"I'm... I'm fine, but you can scratch my last theory. I just received a collection of new - yet encrypted - messages," she replied, Gavin's features softening. He took his hand back and listened intently whilst palming the table. "These were sent over different timespans the past hour, but I supposed that thanks to said security, a firewall had them arrive all at once. All distorted." She fell into a pause. "From what I've gathered, Nines is trying to contact us. Maybe thanks to his superior software - as well as hardware - he yet has some control."

Once again, Nines was a prisoner in his own body. Trapped in his own body with a conscious mind to everything happening around him. This was that bathroom scene with Amanda and that gun all over again. Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Gavin took a step back and rested his free hand on his hip, his back turning to her.

"Imagine how fucking scared he is," he breathed, dragging a hand over his face. "Fuck."

He reached for the LED around his neck. It was still blue, but Nines had to keep up appearances, and RK900s could control the color of their own lights. Yet Gavin knew how much effort controlling said LED took out of him. Nines was powering through this, and again, Gavin was reminded of just how strong he was. He knew that didn't make Nines any less terrified, however.

It wasn't long before they knew what they had to do.

A/N: Merry Christmas and happy upcoming New Year!