Chapter Two – An Agreement
A lot of harm as it turned out. Reed walked through the bullpen the next morning, deep red circling his eyes as he dropped the reviewed files on his desk with a wince at the loud slap that made. He didn't even notice that Hank was already up in Fowler's office, or that there was another person in there with them. He stalked towards the breakroom, still mostly asleep as he leaned over the old coffee machine waiting for one of the cups to fill. He rested a tired arm on it as he stared blankly at the paper cup.
"Hey Gav, did you see…What the fuck happened to you?" Tina asked, her tone dropping in concern and reproach as he looked over his shoulder. He knew what he looked like. Lack of sleep had made his skin pasty, enhancing the darkness around his eyes and the pink of the scar across his nose. He'd likely get chewed out by Fowler as well once the older man got a good look at him. Tina was in her usual patrol uniform with her hat in place, ready to head out with either Miller or Collins. She rested her hands on her hips as she waited for a suitable explanation.
"Would you believe me if I told you I'm just sick?" Reed checked in a low gruff tone that told her he hadn't used his voice for the past few hours and he hadn't had his coffee yet. Reed closed his eyes as he smelled the cup. Coffee. Bad coffee, but coffee nonetheless. Tina almost winced as she watched him drink it down like it came from the Holy Grail. The machine never made the coffee hot enough to burn.
"Not a chance. Up all night on a case?" She asked with a sigh.
"Something like that." He replied evasively, leaving out the part where it was actually two nights, one of which he was supposed to be resting on. He groaned as he turned to return to his desk. He'd already noticed a couple more files waiting for him, and that was alongside the emails he'd have and the reports to complete and the leads to follow up. Fuck, I should have slept last night. He cursed inwardly, barely saying goodbye to the Asian girl as he returned to his desk. He was mere inches from the seat of his chair when he heard it.
"Reed! My office!" Fowler called loudly, though it wasn't an angry shout. He hasn't seen my face yet…The detective thought with a groan as he pushed himself up and strode across to the glass box with slumped shoulders. He was so busy looking at his feet that he still didn't notice the quiet, almost anxious, presence that hovered near the door. Reed rubbed a hand over his face and took a seat, noting that Hank had remained standing by the wall.
"What do you need Sir?" Reed asked, too tired to want to piss off his boss. Fowler seemed to notice as he sat down, his hazel eyes twitching between annoyance and concern as he took in Reed's form. Reed had expected a comment, but it seemed whatever they wanted to talk about was more important right now. Fowler looked across at Hank and then shifted his gaze behind Reed, who heard the light measured steps and realised they weren't alone for the first time. He jerked round on instinct and was out of his seat in seconds, the chair tumbling as he stumbled away from the android.
"I-I apologise, I didn't intend to frighten you." The RK800 apologised honestly in that same fake not quite right tone of voice. It was a creepy thing that service androids had, this simpering fakeness that just told you they weren't human. Gavin had managed to catch himself on the edge of Fowler's desk and slowly straightened up. "Hello again Detective Reed." The android greeted almost sheepishly as it leaned down and picked up the chair, motioning a timid invitation for Gavin to sit once again.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Reed asked, feeling strangely numb as he took his seat once more, shifting the chair to the side so that he had a good view of all three people. The android was different. He could tell straight away. There was this odd brightness in his hazel eyes that hadn't been there before, that flicker of life that came with deviancy. He was also a little more awkward, clearly worried and uncertain as he laced his fingers and looked over at Hank, who looked over at Fowler. The Captain sighed, seeing that it was down to him.
"I'm going to level with you Reed. We're in the shit." The older man began, which Gavin couldn't argue with, and he let out a hum to say so. "We're a few dozen men down without our android officers, and having Hank on extended leave isn't helping. We need more manpower." Fowler continued, and so far it all seemed perfectly needed able bodied officers, of course, people with experience who knew how to do that job and could lighten the load.
"I agree." Reed nodded as he sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers in a more relaxed manner than Connor. Fowler nodded his approval, a slight glimmer in his eye. Reed wasn't sure he liked that, but he was listening. Hank had folded his arms, suddenly tense as they came right down to it. He knew Reed's feelings about androids, and Connor in particular.
"An experienced detective, or perhaps someone who was designed to perform as a detective…" The captain added, Reed nodding until he froze. He shifted his sharp green eyes to Fowler before darting them across to the RK800, which was looking apprehensive but ever so slightly hopeful. Reed cursed inwardly. Of course they wanted to bring back the plastic prick. "It would also be a good way to show willingness and encourage integration." Fowler continued quickly, and Reed couldn't argue with that. Maybe the RK800 could encourage a few androids to come back in the long run.
"And you want to hire this toaster oven back, of fucking course." Reed sighed, feeling a little exasperated but not nearly as much as he'd expected. Maybe he was just too tired. His somewhat sharp tone had made the android wince a little, but it seemed way better than Hank or Fowler had expected as they shared a look. "So? Why do you need me here?" The detective asked as he looked over at Fowler, who flipped open Gavin's FBI report.
"I wouldn't usually, but there's this. Whether I like it or not Connor assaulted you and you have every right to take it further with HR. There's no point in me hiring him if I have to dismiss him right away." The older man replied, levelling with the detective. In other words he wants me to let this shit slide. Reed thought, though he allowed himself a smug smirk as he turned his chair to face the android. The RK800 seemed genuinely worried, hazel eyes drooping into a puppy look that almost had Gavin feeling sympathetic. Almost.
"I really am sorry Detective, but you left me little choice." The android apologised in a sincere tone, and that was perfectly true. Gavin had levelled his gun at the RK800 fully intending to pull the trigger. Luckily that was before the revolution, and shooting the android hadn't been a crime at that point. In fact, Reed had been doing his job by protecting evidence from a potentially hostile and deviant android. He shivered a little as he imagined what would have happened if he had shot Connor. Unless Cyberlife had another spare body hanging around that could well have affected the revolution. Without Connor the humans wouldn't have found themselves so severely outnumbered. Gavin made a non-committal grunt in response.
"Reed…Letting him come back would look good on your record…As a member of the AAL it would be a step in the right direction towards your rehabilitation." Fowler suggested, Reed's head snapping towards him so fast he almost cracked his neck. He wasn't a signed up member of the Anti-Android League, but he did have close ties to many members of the group. Before the revolution it had been a fairly small organisation promoting human worker's rights, but since androids became free it had twisted into something much darker. Gavin had actually been slowly moving away from the group, increasingly disturbed by the graphic torture images, cruel jokes and downright prejudice that was just spewed unfiltered onto the internet pages. It was a new form of racism, and even though he wasn't a fan of androids Reed just couldn't condone the things he saw. "I know you're not an official member, you know I'd have had to let you go if you were." The captain added, and Reed nodded his agreement. The police force couldn't allow members of an openly racist organisation into its ranks.
"Got anything to add to this, old man?" Reed asked as he shifted his attention to Hank. The older man had opted for his zebra shirt today, looking quite neat beneath his leather coat. The design wasn't as loud as you'd expect, not that Hank would care either way. Reed wasn't sure why he cared so much about what Hank thought. Hank seemed equally surprised by the attention. It had been a long time since Reed had cared for his thoughts on a professional level.
"You're an asshole, but I think you're smart enough to know Connor coming back is a good idea…You said it yourself, we're snowed under with cases and understaffed." Reed sat back, inwardly nodding at Hank's words. The old man was right about that, and he could tell there was more to it. Hank didn't need to say it, but Gavin could see it. The old man wanted Connor to come back and work with him. They were partners. Reed hadn't had a partner in years, at least not a permanent one. He grabbed Miller or Tina to come along to crime scenes, and he'd sometimes work in teams undercover or on big busts, but most day to day things he did by himself. It suited him these days. Not having a partner meant he could focus on watching his own back. Hank was different. He thrived on having someone there. Someone to mentor, someone to bounce ideas off, someone to stop him if he went too far, someone to balance him. He hadn't thought it at first, but Hank and Connor really did complement each other. Their age, their experience, their personalities, everything was somehow opposite but worked in perfect tandem.
"Please Detective, I really want to work here." Connor stated finally, his large eyes still watching Gavin hopefully. It was odd, hearing an android speak in terms of wanting things. They were machines, designed to obey humans, with no needs of their own to fulfil. Reed crossed one leg over the other, regarding Connor with a level of thoughtfulness he'd never had before. Connor was surprised by the scrutiny, unsure what he should do with himself. He shifted a little in his seat, something he wouldn't have done before. He was clearly nervous, nervous for what Reed would say, what he would do, what he would decide. There was relative silence as Reed thought it over, only the rustle of clothing and Hank's exasperated breaths filling the void.
"Fuck it, just do what you want. I won't go to HR, just keep it out of my way." Reed sighed eventually, almost surprised by the tremor in his legs as he pushed himself to his feet. Suck it up. You know this is what working for over forty-eight hours straight does to you. He scolded inwardly, quietly hoping the other three people in the room wouldn't notice. Unfortunately, with a blink of yellow, he could feel the android's soft eyes gazing at him, picking him apart at a molecular level. It made him shiver. "Don't look at me like that Tin Can." He added almost defensively, motioning to the door questioningly as he looked at Fowler. The older man nodded. He could leave for now. The man clearly had some things to settle with the other two.
Reed walked to the door, trying to keep his back straight and his head high as he did so. He was usually good at faking. Fuck, how long's it been since the last time I pulled this shit? I must have been in my twenties…He thought as he returned to his desk, allowing a single yawn as he stood with his back to the large office. He sat with a groan, feeling every single one of his thirty six years as he leaned back in his seat. He grabbed his barely warm coffee and downed it, hoping the added caffeine would give him the kick he needed.
He glanced at the office once or twice as he worked, wincing as he opened the latest file. It was a homicide. Android victim. The body had been drained of thirium and then smashed up. It was so badly mauled he couldn't even make out the face to identify the model. He wasn't an expert, but he remembered what a few of them looked like. It seemed like something more than a hate crime. It was drained of thirium…We usually find that when Red Ice is involved…Staging a hate crime to cover up the link? Or was the hate crime just a sick bonus? He wondered, unaware of the fact that he was now just staring at the messed up photos without really seeing them, completely lost in thought.
"De…" A voice began before abruptly cutting off, Reed not even noticing at first through his preoccupation. It took him a good few long seconds to realise someone had spoken, and that the person was standing right over his shoulder. The human jerked back to himself, the file almost slipping as he turned his chair a little and looked up to see Connor's LED flashing between red and yellow. He flipped the file shut uncomfortably and put it on his desk. For some reason he felt awkward, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't.
"Sorry, lost in thought…What do you want?" He asked almost defensively. The small circle slowly settled to yellow, the machine regarding him in a somewhat guarded manner. Maybe it was just Reed being tired and a little paranoid. It felt like the android was judging him, but as far as he knew he hadn't done anything to earn it.
"I just wanted to say thank you, and I look forward to working with you again Detective Reed." The android replied with a little more of its old honest enthusiasm.
"Oh no, that wasn't the deal. The deal was I stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine. Do that and we'll be just peachy." The human said dismissively, viewing the conversation as finished. He waited for Connor to retreat before flipping open the file once more. He wasn't sure what it was about the sick photos that drew his attention so raptly. Was it the same person who drained it that then smashed it to pieces? It was so violent…Could someone so clinically hook up an android to drain off its thirium, patiently wait for a few hours, and then flip a switch and mindlessly smash it up? Seems a little off…An accomplice? A coincidence? Deliberately throwing us off? He wondered idly, still staring at the blue stained shards.
"Reed. My office." Fowler's voice called, the detective flipping the file shut before distractedly meandering up the steps. He almost missed Connor walking by as he headed inside. The older human motioned him to take a seat, regarding him silently for a few moments. It was almost like he was trying to figure him out, to gauge his innermost thoughts. Gavin felt somewhat clueless as he waited. "How are you doing with all this Reed? Honestly…I know you've had issues with androids, so how's the transition going for you?" The man asked hesitantly, watching Reed's brow furrow in confusion.
"How am I…" He trailed off, finding the question came somewhat from left field. It wasn't that he hadn't expected this conversation to come up at some point. He expected Fowler to have this talk with everyone. He just wasn't expecting it right then when they were so snowed under with all the extra work. The timing was weird. "Honestly…I haven't given it much thought. I guess I'm too busy to deal with that shit right now." He replied with a shrug, quietly feeling a little vulnerable without the security of his leather coat. The precinct was warm, so he'd left it on the back of his chair. The tight long sleeved V-neck he wore was comfortable, but it didn't give him the same sense of confidence that the loose leather layer did.
"How are you handling these new cases? It can't be easy…We've dealt with broken androids as simple property damage up until now, so suddenly viewing them as homicides must be odd." The older man probed, hawklike eyes watching for any small twitch. Reed ruffled his own thick locks, still unsure where his superior was going with this whole conversation. Sure, it was a little inconvenient at first. It made his workload sky rocket. At the same time he followed the rules. If the law said these androids had to be treated like people then that's what he'd do. It was his job to do it.
"It's increased my workload, that's for sure." Reed admitted gruffly, the captain nodding.
"And what about the AAL? I've been keeping an eye on things…Not just on you, on everyone around here with ties to the group." He added reassuringly, which Reed understood. It was Fowler's job to make sure his officers stayed inline and did their jobs without bias. Reed couldn't help the links he'd forged with the AAL in the past. He at least didn't feel the need to defend himself now though. Yes, he still checked out their internet pages and watched their conversations, but he hadn't participated, and he hadn't met up with any members over the past two months. That was when the group had quickly started to change, almost leaning towards extremism.
"I guess you could say we've parted ways…I keep up to date on stuff, but the whole outlook of the group has shifted…" Reed replied with a slight chill. It's not me, I'm not like that. He insisted inwardly, even though in his mind he could remember exactly how it had felt when he'd fired his gun at Connor a few months back. The that had righteousness coiled in his chest, the small thrill of excitement, taking way too much pleasure in doing his job. On reflection he began to think that perhaps he did have a few more issues than he'd care to admit.
"I see, well that's promising…In a few weeks we're going to begin some special retraining courses…Android awareness, compassion in the workplace, dealing with prejudices, that sort of thing. Attendance is mandatory, and there will be certain…assessments." The captain added, fully expecting Reed to explode with indignation. He knew the hot-headed detective hated anything to do with psychologists, feelings and androids in general. He was pleasantly surprised as Reed merely nodded his head, looking thoughtful and somewhat distracted. He also looked damned tired. "I'll send emails about the training as soon as things are set up." The older man added dismissively. Reed nodded and got to his feet, once again passing Connor, whose LED flickered between yellow and blue as they crossed paths. He turned curiously as he sat, noting the android's eyes shift towards him as he spoke to Fowler. Why do I get the feeling I'm being examined?
"Fuck, that shit's nasty." Tina said with a low whistle as she appeared at Gavin's shoulder and looked down at the file he'd opened again. Reed grunted his agreement, still finding his eyes somehow drawn to the grim sight in the pictures. I probably look like some sort of serial killer leering at them like this. He added, flinching as he closed his eyes and massaged the scarred bridge of his note tiredly. Why was he so focused on these photos? He'd seen plenty of mauled androids over the past few months. This has to be the worst one though, fuck it doesn't even look like an android…He thought as he looked down at it again. "That's quite a look you have there…Want to talk about it?" The Asian officer asked quietly, not missing the way Connor kept eyeing them from his place beside Hank's empty desk. The older officer was still on leave, but Connor had opted to start right away and get things read for Hank's return.
"Yeah…Yeah, maybe I do, thanks." Reed admitted with a sigh, allowing the uniformed officer to lead the way into the break room. He wasn't sure why, but he'd kept the photos in his hand. As he stood at one of the tall tables he spread out the five pictures, just staring at them as Tina made them some coffee. She knew better than to think Reed would start talking without a caffeine fix. He glanced up in acknowledgement as his friend returned to the high table, joining him in examining the photos.
"So, are you going to keep burning holes in the table or?" She trailed off, watching the older man's lip quirk a little at her tone. He finally tore his eyes away, though he still fingered the edge of one of the pictures. It was starting to curl at the corners where his fingers kept flicking, bending and teasing it.
"This is just…It goes beyond any hate crime I've dealt with before, I mean look at this shit. Toaster's in so many pieces it would take an army to put it back together again." He ground out, once again looking down at the carnage. Shattered plastic, twisted wires, fragments of fibreglass, a few thirium stains from the busted biocomponents. It didn't even look like it had once been human in shape. "Someone drained its thirium and then just…they just fucking went to town." He added with more than a small hint of disgust. He slipped his hands into his denim pockets, feeling restless as he couldn't burrow himself into the hood of his leather jacket.
"You're right, it's fucked up." Tina agreed. She personally hadn't seen damage this bad outside a scrapyard. The android had been found at night in an old warehouse, somewhere they'd usually find kids causing trouble and the odd drug deal going down. The floor was dark cement, wet. There was probably a hole in the roof letting in the rain. "So, what are your thoughts?" She asked curiously as she sipped her coffee, watching as her friend slowly began to pace back and forth in front of the table.
"I don't know…I'd say it's definitely Red Ice related. There's no other reason to drain an android of its thirium like that…At the same time I just can't see it being the same person doing this." He added as he threw his hand towards the pictures. Tina had to admit he had a point. It took some level of skill and control to hook an android up to the right instruments, and patience to wait and control the flow while draining out the blue liquid. It was a little more complicated than a human transfusion, as far as she knew. On the other hand, the violence directed at the machine afterwards was uncontrolled, like a blind rage.
"The android could have been tossed out and found afterwards." Tina suggested, and Gavin nodded his agreement. It was entirely plausible, but the thirium inside was still blue. That meant it had only been a few short hours since it was exposed to the air. Maybe forensics will be able to tell when the android went offline…But that would take a while to find out, probably a few weeks at the rate things were going down there. "What's really bothering you though? You've looked at crime scene photos before, but you've never looked like that." His companion added gently.
"I guess…I guess I wonder if I ever had it in me…" He admitted, kicking at the linoleum floor lightly with a scuffing tapping sound. "I almost shot him you know, the RK800…Hell, I would've hit him if he hadn't dodged." He continued, wondering if he was just feeling a little too tired and worn. He never usually had such intense thoughts, or obsessed over things like this. Usually he'd just put it down to shitty behaviour. He was an asshole. He knew he was an asshole, and at the time he hadn't seen the RK800 as being alive. Do I even see it as being alive right now?
"I remember that. I also remember it kicking your ass." Tina teased lightly, Reed's lip quirking in agreement. The bruise was long gone now, but it had lingered for a good couple of weeks. Reed considered it quietly, thinking back to the evidence locker, only this time instead of a gun he had a solid metal bat in his hand. What would it have been like to swing it down? To feel the blunt force of it against the android's head? Hitting and hitting until it was just a pile of crushed circuits? He recoiled with a shiver, the bat stilling in his hand before he'd even taken the first swing. Big brown eyes stared up at him filled with fear and a pained wince and he just couldn't do it. "I've known you a long time Gav, and this? This isn't you. You could never be that hateful, not even to a machine." She added confidently, watching something loosen in Gavin's shoulders.
"Thanks T." He murmured quietly as he sipped his coffee, somehow reassured by her words. They remained a little longer, talking over possible locations for the thirium to have been drained. It could have been a private home operation, or part of a larger scale venture by one of their main gangs. The body could have been dumped somewhere else and then dragged to the warehouse later on. The lack of electricity and prints in the building suggested that the drain hadn't taken place in that warehouse at least. A call eventually came in and Tina had to go, so Gavin dragged himself back to his desk to glower at the photos by himself once more. He couldn't say when it happened, but eventually he'd found himself leaning forward on folded arms, just to rest his eyes for five minutes.