Chapter Twenty-Nine – Feral

Connor shifted in his seat anxiously as Hank drove. Nines had cut him off about the time the disc shocked him, unable to keep the connection open. The only good thing about this was that Nines had been in contact with him the whole time, sharing data and his thoughts. Connor had already alerted Hank to Nines' unrest and the older man had suggested they get down there, agreeing with the younger android's caution. They'd just left the station when the connection was cut.

"Don't worry, we'll get there soon." Hank insisted gruffly as he floored it the whole way. He'd put his light on the roof and blared the alarm, forcing civilian cars to pull over out of the way. Connor nodded stiffly as he gripped the handle by his head, not really feeling safe despite the seatbelt across his chest. He'd never known Hank to be in a hurry before, but right now it was like the old man had never left the streets. He used small backstreets where he could, cutting behind the main roads and junctions.

It was exactly seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds and fifteen milliseconds later that Hank screeched to a stop beside Reed's car. He shouted to Connor as the android dove out and ran towards the yard. It was quiet. Too quiet. He tossed the gate even as he heard his partner running up behind, gun drawn and ready as he laid a hand on Connor's shoulder to pull him back with a firm look.

"Stay behind me." The old man ordered gruffly as he took point. Connor followed, scanning the area as he went. He tried to re-establish contact with Nines. His thirium pump kicked up a notch as the line continued to ring. Either Nines was ignoring him or he was too damaged to answer. He knew which option was more likely. Hank nodded to the hut first and Connor silently agreed as he crept up to the door and kicked it open.

"Detroit police!" He shouted in warning, ducking out of the doorway just in case. There was movement within and an old man appeared, though he seemed unsettled when he saw Connor near the doorway.

"Your android! It's gone crazy! You've got to shoot the thing!" The old man insisted as he peered through the doorway at Hank. Hank stepped a little closer to the hut, so that he could listen as the old man continued his rambling. "It's out of control! I don't know what happened, but it's like a wild animal!" The man continued as he hid in the doorway, unwilling to get close to Connor. The man was telling the truth, as far as he was aware.

"I've been unable to establish a link with Nines." Connor admitted, but he couldn't believe the android had simply gone feral out of the blue. That disc had shocked him, but not enough to damage his internal systems. Did they attack him afterwards? Or did the shock awaken some deep-set trauma? The RK800 wondered worriedly as he left the doorway.

"Stay inside, you hear? Shut the door, and don't come out until I tell you." Hank instructed, the old man making no argument as he pushed the door shut and disappeared from sight, likely hunkering down beneath the desk. Connor's LED flickered red as he circled the path and followed the dusty human tracks. Hank caught up to him and quickly tugged him back, taking up the position in front once more. "Ah shit." The older man cursed as he lowered his gun, Connor's LED continuing to circle red as he took in the four bodies.

The two younger humans were unmoving, and he couldn't tell whether they were even alive from where he stood. They were lying like ragdolls or discarded toys. The amount of red on the dirt path wasn't promising. Connor couldn't help the relief that flooded his chest as he saw Nines and Reed were both alive, though Reed was clearly injured as he held a hand to his bleeding shoulder. He'd been hit in the face too, blood trickling from his lip as he knelt hunched over. Nines was crouched more like a tiger than a human, ready to pounce anything that came towards them.

"Nines!" Connor called as he took a few hurried steps forward, pausing as an inhuman static noise growled from the RK900's curled lips. "Nines?" The older android questioned warily, holding his hands out, palms down, in a calming gesture. Reed's breaths were coming in short gasps, his body quivering lightly as he continued to stem the flow of blood from his shoulder. Fuck, it hurt like hell.

"Nines…Nines, calm the fuck down…It's just Connor…" The weakened human urged in a growling tone. Nines snarled again as he shuffled further back, closer to the smaller human. Hank slowly made his way forward, barely pausing as Nines let out a new growl. He blocked their view of Gavin almost completely. Connor put his arm out as Hank made to step forward, the android on the ground snapping its teeth.

"Nines! Sit!" Hank snapped as he nudged Connor's arm away, the hazel eyed android looking at him incredulously as the old man simply stepped forward with his hands on his hips. Nines growled again, but made no move to attack Hank. "I am your superior officer! Sit down Detective!" The lieutenant added firmly, watching as the blue eyes android slowly lowered his knees to the dirt, but he didn't move away from Gavin, not by an inch.

"Nines…" The injured human murmured with a wince, leaning his body forward enough to rest his head on the android's back. Nines paused at the added weight, slowly blinking and looking over his shoulder. "It's okay, you can come back now, yeah?" The green eyes man soothed, unsure how much longer he'd be able to keep his eyes open as sickening warmth continued to flow down his arm. Nines blinked, his LED flashing red and yellow. Gavin continued to whisper and mumble soothing words, trying not to shake too much against the pain in his shoulder.

Seeing his brother was distracted the RK800 sneaked closer, retracting the skin on his hand. Gavin met his eyes briefly as he continued to talk Nines down, the larger android letting out small protective growls. Connor smiled softly as he reached forward and grabbed Nines' neck, the skin there retracting as Connor started an interface. He instantly felt Nines' panic and fear settle over him. He winced at the sensation, letting his reassurance seep out in response as he dipped into Nines' mind and reordered his thoughts. Nines shuddered as they parted, his body slumping as he went into stasis.

"Connor, check the others. I'll call the hospital." Hank instructed as he knelt beside Reed and tugged the bloodied jacket and top off. Reed grunted loudly as his shoulder was moved, glaring daggers at the older man as he was manhandled. "Hang on son." The older officer soothed as he eyed the hole, which hadn't opened on the other side. He sighed. That meant the bullet was still in there somewhere, and he knew how much Reed hated it when he had to have bullets fished out.

"Nines…alright?" Reed managed to grunt, green eyes unfocused as he looked down at the unconscious android. His LED was spinning yellow as he reordered his thoughts upon Connor's instruction. Hank eased Reed back a little, assuring him that his partner would be fine as he called the hospital. Reed was shivering now, feeling unbelievably cold despite it being quite warm out. He was going into shock. You'd think he'd be able to handle a bullet or two after all the previous ones.

"They're alive." Connor reported hesitantly, though Nines certainly hadn't been gentle about restraining them. One had a dislocated elbow, broken knee and five cracked ribs while the other had seven cracked ribs and a skull fracture. They'd both be out for a while, but that just meant they'd have more time to ensure they had officers ready for them at the hospital. Connor was already calling it through and making arrangements.

"Hey! Gavin! Hey!" Hank cried in alarm as the younger man's eyes drifted shut, his body almost slumping forward onto Nines. The older man caught him, doing his best to keep pressure on the still leaking bullet wound. Connor was at his side in an instant, shrugging out of his jacket and using it as a barrier between Gavin and the ground as he laid him down. He balled up Reed's discarded top and pressed it to the wound, putting more pressure on it than Hank could. He was careful to measure his force, not wanting to fracture the human's bones.

"Detective Reed…Detective, are you with us?" Connor asked firmly as he used his free hand to slap Gavin's cheek, watching Hank wince. He vaguely remembered how it felt to be slapped in the face by an RK800. Not something he'd recommend. Gavin let out a disoriented groan, his eyes barely flickering open before closing again. It was almost like he was drunk. Shit, he's losing too much blood. The older man thought worriedly as his partner continued to try and keep Gavin awake.