There's a final click and Rowan feels something spark up within him before Yan takes their hands out the droid's back panel.
"That should do it. Give me a song." they ask, their voice a little smug.
"Screw that." Rowan reaches for his throat as he finally hears his voice. It's taken a while but with a little help from Google, they've finally managed to hook Rowan's voice box back up and the crazy gesturing and many failed attempts to communicate are done with.
"Well the silence was nice while it lasted." Yan laughs as they pack away the tools they'd managed to pick up. Very useful but hopefully they won't have to use them again anytime soon.
"You're just mad that I can talk back now." Rowan smirks as he puts his shirt back on. Being silent has not been even remotely golden. It's been hell.
"I don't think I'll notice a difference to be honest." Yan teases. Rowan picks up the nearest take out menu and flicks it at the ass.
Yan is about to strike back when Rowan's phone starts ringing, loud, shrill, and very hard to ignore. Caller ID says the number is 'unknown' but they've been sharing the number around, asking people to call if they think of any odd jobs they need doing. Well they need to get money from somewhere.
Clicking answer, Rowan puts the call on speaker. "You got Rowan."
"Oh goodie." The sly, smooth voice that comes through the speaker makes them both freeze in place. It's been weeks but that voice is unmistakable. "I was worried for a moment there."
Yan mouths 'the fuck' at Rowan who just shakes his head as he speaks. "How are you still-?"
"Among the living? Well obviously I didn't die in that fire. No thanks to your little one-man fan club." the bitterness in his voice crackles along the line. Clearly whatever Yan did in that restaurant sits badly with him.
"Hey!" Yan scowls. Rowan hisses at Yan to be quiet as Lucas laughs in response.
"So, to show you just how grateful I am, I put in a call to Cyberlife." Rowan's eyes go wide but it's obvious by the confusion on Yan's face that they don't have a clue what that means at this point. "They seemed very interested in locating a lost deviant."
Wrapping his free arm around his chest, Rowan shakes his head in disbelief. "They won't find us."
"Well they wouldn't…..if I hadn't turned your tracker back on while I was poking around in there."
Rowan takes a sharp synthetic breath and tries very hard not to panic. Yan mouths 'what' at him, clearly panicked but not fully understanding the deep level of shit they're currently in.
On the other end of the line, Lucas's laughter devolves into coughs. When he stops he adds "Oh and I may have mentioned that I last saw you in the possession of an attempted murderer. So bonne chance!"
And the line goes dead.
Before either of them have a chance to react, Rowan throws the phone, full force at the wall. It doesn't break but the glass on the screen cracks and the phone drops to the floor.
Yan steps forward. "We're gonna be okay."
Rowan points to the only door that doesn't lead outside. "Get in the bathroom."
"In the-?! Rowan now really isn't the time to-"
"Get in the bathroom! NOW!" Rowan grabs Yan's arm and drags them towards the strange smelling small washroom attached to their motel room. Before they can really protest, he shoves them in there, slamming the door and moving a nearby chair to jam the door closed.
There are shouts from the other side of the door, which starts to shake but Rowan doesn't respond. There's no point. There's no time. Maybe if they're preoccupied with the droid, they won't go looking for Yan.
That bathroom door is a hardy construct and the silence from the other side of the door has only made Yan that more determined to beat it down. The first full foot smash shakes the door but it stays in place, the second forces it to buckle, but the third one just smashes through the door, Yan forcing their way through.
They don't even stop in the motel room, knowing they won't find him there, rushing past the other rooms down towards the main reception area. As they go, they call for the droid and the silence that comes back just angers and infuriates them more.
It's not until they reach the parking lot and they see Rowan being carried by some stranger, led by another stranger, walking towards a Cyberlife car. They've got him!
Yan doesn't think, sprinting across the parking lot, tackling the one holding Rowan, knocking the droid from their arms and giving a swift kick to knock the other's feet out from under him. A swift punch or two and they're both out cold. Just like Rowan.
They need to get out of there and, careful not to disturb him too much Yan carries Rowan over to their car, rushing back to the room to quickly grab the one bag they'd got into the room before slamming the door closed and tearing out the lot before the two would-be kidnappers even wake up.
Once they hit the freeway, Yan glances across to the still unconscious droid he'd bundled into the back seat.
"Rowan? Rowan can you hear me?" they call.
They watch as Rowan boots up, an eerie and unnatural experience, the stillness slowly evolving into movement that they watch through the rear view mirror. When he sits up, the droid catches sight of Yan in the mirror and freezes, staring at Yan.
"Are you okay?" They ask, still looking but there's something off about the look Rowan is giving them right now. There's no life to them. For the first time since they met, Yan feels like they're looking at a robot. "…Rowan?"
The droid tilts his head at Yan in confusion "Is that the name you wish to register for me?"
"…..what?"
…..Rowan and Yan will return….