Chapter 14/20: Complications
"Don't pretend like you don't have the hots for me, toaster." - Gavin Reed
...in which the case of Gavin's past gets closed and one of our leads has a serious revelation.
GAVIN
~ DEC 28TH, 2038 * PM 08:45 ~
The case was a domestic abuse situation in one of the apartments not far from Jimmy's Bar, the husband being the victim, the wife just having been placed in a patrol car that picked her up in cuffs.
Fuck those people that said only women could be the victims in situations like these.
Just as they'd wrapped up, a somewhat familiar voice called out to him.
"Mr. Reed!"
Arching a brow, he turned to see who the voice belonged to. What he saw was unexpected. It was the woman from Jimmy's he'd helped a month back who seemed really happy to see him. He felt as if he'd been caught red-handed. Fuck, what was her name again? Loretta? Lauren? Laura? Laura Mason. That was it. They'd exchanged names when waiting for the cab to pick her up.
Gavin blinked. "There's a face I didn't expect to see. Uh... Laura Mason right?"
"Oh," she said, her cheeks coloring ever so slightly. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't've expected you -I mean... you're a cop. I bet you deal with a lot of names on a daily basis."
"More than I can count. I remembered, though. Just say 'detective.' I hear 'Reed' enough when the boss is yelling at me."
"I take it you get yelled at a lot?"
"What gave it away?"
"You look the roguish type, is all."
Gavin put a dramatic hand to his heart. "Fuuuck, now I'm personally offended. Just had to take a stab at my rugged good looks, huh?" he joked, resulting in her laugh. He took note of Nines' curious expression in his peripheral vision and Gavin gestured to him. "Probably saw him back at the bar - kinda hard to miss - but this is my partner. Nines. We've just wrapped up a case."
"I remember. Hello," she said politely. Nines nodded, returning a smile the best he could. More like a confused lip-twitch. Fuck, he had to work on that. Laura shifted. "He's... not really a talker, is he?"
"His social relations program could use some work. Kinda like the silent, brooding type."
"Well, every girl likes a silent brooder. Very mysterious, and I admit, a tad bit intimidating. In a good way," she replied with a smile, before her full attention was back on Gavin. "I didn't expect to see you again."
"Could say the same about you. Your visit to Jimmy's wasn't exactly a pleasant one."
She sighed. "There's Vince Brinks for you. I'm just passing through with my dad and sister. It was a happy coincidence that I saw you."
Gavin froze.
"Wait, did you say Brinks?"
"Uh, yeah. Vince was my neighbor. In Birmingham," she replied, adjusting the purse strap she had over her shoulder. "He lives here in Detroit, now. I'm simply visiting family for the holidays."
Giving Nines a look, he watched as his brows shot up in mild surprise. The coincidence was too big to ignore.
"Any chance his father was named Jonathan?" Gavin asked.
Her face fell ever so slightly. "His uncle was. They were close. Why? Is something wrong?"
"Could be relevant to an ongoing investigation," he said, convinced now. "Unless you've got the time to come with us to the station, is there anywhere we could talk in private? We'd like to ask you a couple questions."
"Oh. Of course! It's the least I can do," she replied, her face lighting up. "With a car, my parents live just 15 minutes from here."
"That works."
"I'm just going to inform my dad," she said, shooting a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of a pharmacy store. "Two minutes. Wait here?"
When Gavin nodded in reply, she excused herself and set course for said store. He pocketed his hands and directed his gaze elsewhere, watching a couple patrons flowing in and out of Jimmy's. They might've just hit jackpot. Vince's last name was Brinks, he lived in Birmingham in his youth, and had an uncle named Jonathan. Vince's father must've been Quinten who framed Gavin's father back in 06. Vince, possibly, found out about the espionage and used it to pick up where Quinten left off. If lucky, they'd have the case solved by the end of the day.
It was a good time for a quick debriefing, but when he turned his head, he saw that Nines - hands pocketed as always - had donned a wistful expression as he followed Laura with his eyes. Reaching up, Gavin gently grasped Nines' chin and turned his head to obtain eye contact.
"Earth to Terminator," he said, dropping his hand. "You blue-screening on me again, tin can?"
Nines blinked, his LED momentarily flickering yellow, shifting his weight to his other leg. He held his gaze before averting them again.
"She's quite attractive."
He couldn't tell. She was easy on the eyes, yes, but Gavin didn't find her attractive. There was a difference. Yet, Nines stating that couldn't help but make him feel somewhat uncomfortable. The reason why was unknown even to him.
It was a topic he didn't delve further into.
Gavin let out a scoff. "Why, you wanna ask her out?"
"It's merely an observation. Besides, her undivided attention is obviously directed at you."
"What can I say? I'm irresistible," he replied with a confident smirk, playfully nudging Nines with an elbow before following up with a tease. "Don't pretend like you don't have the hots for me, toaster."
"No accounting for taste."
"Those guys I've been hilt-deep in seem to disagree."
"I don't think a switchblade counts, sergeant."
Dumbfounded, Gavin stared at him. "You know I'm talking about my di -?"
"Yes, Gavin, I know," he deadpanned, appearing to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "Please don't finish that sentence. We're in public."
"All right, pastor," he joked, taking a drag of his cigarette. Then he physically placed himself between the pharmacy store and Nines' line of vision. Nines arched a curious brow at him, and as planned, Gavin gained his full attention to give him the doe-eyes. "You're breaking my heart, tin can. I'm right here. What, I'm not sexy enough for you?"
"I'm trying not to think about you in a sexual sense. It's called 'workplace professionalism.' Maybe you've heard of it."
"Whoa, whoa," he interrupted, tone dancing with amusement as he moved a hand to the small of his back and pulled him in. "Trying?"Nines - having bumped into him - remained confident and seemed unbothered. "That's one hell of a Freudian slip, Niner."
One that boosted his ego.
"Big word."
Gavin whistled. "You're so mean. It's kinda hot," he teased, Nines giving him a fond smirk. "Doesn't answer my question, though."
Icy grey looked him up and down before Nines released a hand from one of his pockets and made a 'turn' motion with it. Gavin happily obliged and pulled away. Propping the cigarette between his lips, he parted his arms, doing a 360.
"I'll give you a seven."
"Seven?" he repeated, mocking offense. "I'm at least a fucking eight."
In response, Nines gingerly took the cigarette from his mouth before letting it drop to the ground and stomping it.
"Now it's a ten."
"Here I thought smoking made me sexier."
"I'm an advanced model. I calculate the lifespan of a partner," he replied, reaching up to grasp the sides of Gavin's leather jacket to straighten it. Gavin gave him the side-eye. "The longer I get to spend with them the better and smoking takes years away."
"Fuck, Nines, you're gonna make me cry," he joked, and this time, Nines was unable to resist the roll of icy grey eyes as he released said jacket. Gavin moved his own towards the pharmacy store as he saw Laura exiting. "The fuck didn't you tell me the asshole back at Jimmy's was named Vince Brinks, by the way? Kinda relevant. Would've spared us the extra legwork."
"He wasn't relevant to our then investigation and arrived after I scanned the bar, thus never had a name. I can't help but regret that now."
Gavin shook his head. "You couldn't've known."
Not before long, Laura returned.
"Sorry about that. My dad would worry sick if I just disappeared."
Nines took the word. "While you follow up on this lead, I'll ask a few questions at Jimmy's."
"You sure?" Gavin asked, chucking the cigarette away and stomping it.
"Certainly. Take your time, sergeant," he replied as he began to move, winking like he was born to do it. "I'll call a cab."
The fuck was that about?
Turning back to her, Gavin tilted his head in the direction of his car. "C'mon."
Laura fell into his steps.
Clicking the button on his keychain, the car lights blinked and was unlocked, Gavin pulling up the door for her. She offered a "thanks" before he rounded the car and plopped into the driver's seat. He wasn't about to grill her with questions on their way over, so he let the radio play, not a big fan of complete silence. Only with Nines, Tina and Chris didn't he feel awkward about it.
~ DEC 28TH, 2038 * PM 09:03 ~
When nearing the address, Gavin saw her fidgeting in his peripheral vision. Her nails, purse, whatever she could find. He lowered the volume enough to hear her clearly before asking.
"You okay?"
Laura snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just... a bit confused what's going on."
"Can't say too much, but Vince might've framed the guy you've been seeing all over the news lately."
She took a moment to digest that. "Wow, I'm... wow. Vince might be pushy and a total asshole, but this? I never would've thought."
"Like I said, might've," he corrected her, squinting through the windshield. "This the place?"
"Yes, right there. The white one."
Shortly after, he pulled up outside of the parking garage. The neighborhood was quiet. Across the road, some guy was taking out the trash, the sound of metal emerging as he put the lid back on. The man then turned on his heel and returned to his home. Laura stepped up to the door first, rummaging through her purse as a few muffled curses escaped her.
"Forgot your keys?"
"Dammit, I didn't take them with me. Hold on. My mom should be home."
Laura rang the doorbell, her hand on her hip as she waited. It wasn't long before the door swung open. The relief washing over her face was easily noticeable. Her mom, however, sported a rather surprised expression when her eyes landed on Gavin.
She gave her daughter a mildly amused look. "Now, what's going on here?"
"Not what you're thinking," she replied, rolling her eyes. "He's a cop. If you're done interrogating me, can we head inside? It's freezing out here."
"Cop? What in the world have you gotten yourself into now?"
"Nothing like that, ma'am," Gavin interrupted, holding up a hand. "My name's Gavin Reed. The DPD is investigating a confidential case and your daughter may have some information we could use."
"Oh, I see," she replied, stepping aside and letting them enter. "Would you like some coffee, officer?"
"Detective... and no thanks. I won't be long."
It was a quaint home, certainly more artistic than most houses, paintings littering the walls. From what he could tell, many of them were made by Carl Manfred. He could easily recognize the style from back when he investigated the painter's home.
Laura gestured to the direction of the living room couch. He was tired and only when he fell into it did he realize, feeling as if he'd been walking for days, although it hadn't been more than maybe twenty minutes in total the entire day. Sleep deprivation and insomnia was a bitch. This entire investigation had worn him out in other ways, too. The situation was too personal.
Then there was Nines knowing about all of it. That was another anomaly.
At first, he regretted opening his mouth at all. Regretted letting him in on his life and what made him into the man he was today. Then Nines' pep talk came after, and fuck, his concerns vanished. He was glad to get all that off his chest and Nines didn't judge. He just listened, gave him a slight scolding about the issue regarding his mom, but that was it. He actually understood and it proved that Nines had a lot of empathy these days. Looking back at that shell of Nines' former self, it was almost scary how much had changed.
Nines still had that pole up his ass - ninety percent of the time looking like he was bored to death - but there was change. Big ones. The more time passed, the more empathetic he became, and Gavin couldn't help but wonder just how many firewalls he had left. How close he was to deviate. It wasn't any of his business, he knew that, but curiosity got the better of him. All he knew was that Nines wanted to remain a machine and Gavin couldn't say that he agreed with that choice. Then again, it was Nines' life. Not his. He was his own person.
Yet, Nines couldn't disobey. Couldn't say 'no.' That was what didn't sit well with him.
He was worried the State Department would abuse that control when he fell into their ranks. They could literally order him to throw himself over a grenade and he'd have no choice but to do it. Gavin didn't want to think about that, but it proved difficult not to. The image of Nines' dead body, lying in a pool of his own thirium, was an image that wouldn't leave him.
Frankly, it scared him.
"Lacey!"
A ragdoll cat jumped up on the couch and tore him from his thoughts like a saving grace. It started purring in his lap.
Gavin petted the feline. "I really don't mind."
"You have a cat?"
"A puppy. Schipperke. Acts like a cat, though," he replied, looking up to face Laura again as he scratched the cat under her chin. More purring. He realized just how much he missed Socks. "I won't take up much of your time, but whatever information you have on the Brinks family could be crucial. You said this Vince was your neighbor in Birmingham?"
Laura sat down opposite him. "Yeah, that's right," she said, clasping her hands in her lap. "I detect a hint of Brummie in your accent, too."
"I grew up there. It's a big place, but word tends to go around," he said, needing to be careful with his words. "As for Vince's uncle, you mentioned he was named Jonathan? That they were close?"
"Yes. He worked for the FBI if I remember correctly. He died in... 2006, I think? Messy business."
"Vince's father's name was Quinten, I take it?" he asked, Laura nodding. It was definitely the same guy. "What can you tell me about Vince?"
"Aside from being a total dick? He's been making advances for as long as I can remember. Been married for five years and has a two-year-old son. I've been too scared to tell his wife about it. He frightens me."
"...and you didn't call the cops on him?"
She shook her head. "I didn't wanna risk it. He's too unstable. Didn't wanna get in between him and his wife, either. Breaking up families isn't exactly something I have the right to do. I hear he's been on rehab for red ice the past few months," she replied, fidgeting with her hands again. "I had no idea he would be involved in any of this. I don't understand, like... what connection does he have to this man? I can't remember ever seeing him and Vince and I grew up together. Why would he ruin his life like that?"
"The guy you see on the news was the detective working the case of Jonathan Brinks' homicide," he said, her scrounged up features softening out in mild surprise. "He found illegal documents on the scene, had it delivered to the Birmingham Police Department, but Quinten wanted to clear his brother's name. Became an accomplice. Back in 06, he framed the detective for a murder. He managed to prove to the higher-ups that he was innocent, though, and walked out a free man... but now the case reemerged with fake 'evidence'."
"How do you know?"
"That's classified, I'm afraid. I suspect that Vince found out about his father's failed attempt to get the detective out of the picture and picked up where he left off. After all, you said he was close to his uncle."
Her face fell. "Vince worshipped Jonathan. He'd do anything for him, it's just... a lot to take in."
"You know where he lives?"
"Lafayette Avenue."
After a few more questions that took a good 10-15 minutes, he left the establishment and was wished good luck.
NINES
~ DEC 28TH, 2038 * PM 09:47 ~
"You were home early."
It was the first thing Nines spoke when he was picked up at the apartment.
"...and you pissed off quickly. The fuck wouldn't I be?" he replied, Nines crossing his arms and arching an unimpressed brow. Realization dawned on Gavin's features. "Wait, hold the phone. Were you trying to hook us up?"
"For being a detective, you're quite slow on the uptake."
"Okay, fuck you."
"Maybe later if you behave."
"You're lucky I've gotta focus on the driving, tin can. That coffee would've been all over you otherwise."
"Kinky. I wasn't aware you were a fan of food play," he deadpanned, not even making an effort to dodge the punch Gavin landed on his shoulder. He flashed a smirk seeing Gavin's appearing grin. "After what you told me on Thursday, I made the assumption you could benefit from a relationship. Observation had me arrive at the conclusion that you were interested in return."
"I don't swing that way, smartass," he said, probably seeing the wheels turning in Nines' head. "That wasn't serious flirting. It's a way to get people to lower their guard. Fuck, you and I have been doing the same thing for weeks."
"My mistake. I admit, it's... quite confusing to me."
"Flirting?"
"Attraction other than physical. Using Echo and Ripple as an example, as well as Markus and Simon, I know androids are capable of it."
"Wait, Robo-Jesus and the blonde one?" he asked rhetorically, giving him a brief look. "Would you look at that... you really went all-in with the whole androids-don't-feel-anything red herring back on the roof."
"Amanda would have me decommissioned otherwise. My point stands, though."
"Since when did my sex life become so important to you?"
"Not specifically your sex life, but for that in particular... estimated two weeks, three days, 18 hours, six minutes, 15 milliseconds."
Gavin just stared at him wide-eyed.
"Wha -?" he tried, before snapping his attention back to the road. "That's weirdly fucking specific. You keeping tabs on me?"
"No, but you had a tendency to make quite the unintentional racket not to interrupt my stasis when returning home from your nightly visits. It's been quiet ever since and thus it's apparent you stopped."
"When I'm nearly working 24/7, I don't exactly have time for it."
"I suppose the same goes for a relationship."
"Sounds 'bout right. Besides, I don't do those anymore. It's too messy. Bad experience. Let's leave it at that."
So he did, at least for now.
It wasn't long before they arrived at Vince's home. Standing outside having just rung the doorbell, he couldn't help but notice the tightness of Gavin's shoulders. His expression was just as hard. Nines knew how it felt to be personally targeted as his own situation with CyberLife - and that other RK900 - wasn't all that different. Both ruined their lives in different ways. Vince ruining Gavin's reputation and that RK900 possibly targeting Nines' life. Gavin had debriefed him on what Laura told him, and yet, he was left with questions.
The sound of a door opening caught his ear.
Moving his gaze, Nines saw a young woman step up to the frame with a little boy on her hip. Vince was indeed married and had a child. There was a confused expression on her face as her eyes darted between them.
"Mrs. Brinks? Name's Gavin Reed, and this is my partner, Nines. We're from the DPD. Is your husband home?"
"Not at the moment, no, but he should be back from work soon. You're free to wait," she replied, stepping aside for them to enter the household. "Laura told me you were coming. Is this about the entire red ice ordeal? Vince claims to have been on rehab for a couple months, but I doubt he's telling the truth. I admit I've had my suspicions."
Gavin searched the room with his eyes. "One of the reasons we're here, yeah. What makes you think he's lying?"
"He's been acting... well, aggressive, recently. Occupied. Much like how he was acting under the influence. He hasn't hurt anyone, though. At least not to my knowledge. I've brought it up to him, but he keeps ignoring the issue."
"You know of his supposed obsession with Laura Mason?"
"Yes, I'm aware. Vince denied it when I asked about her, but I'm not stupid."
"...and you're okay with this?"
She shook her head. "If it wasn't for my son, I'd leave Vince in a heartbeat. Growing up without a father isn't something I'd want for him."
"I'm not here to tell you what to do, ma'am, but trust me when I say this... your son would be better off," he replied, her face falling ever so slightly. "An absent father is far better than a bad one."
"Are you speaking from experience?" she asked, adjusting the child on her hip. He nodded. "I... I'll think about it. I've had for a while."
Nines spoke. "That's not the only reason why we're here. Your husband might be responsible for framing a man for a crime worthy of death row."
"He... he what?" she asked, eyes wide.
"According to Mason, Vince was close to his uncle Jonathan Brinks. After Jonathan was killed in 06, his crime scene investigated, he was found guilty of a serious crime via encrypted documents. The man who found the evidence was a detective, and Quinten - Jonathan's brother - framed said detective for the murder of the woman in charge of decrypting said documents because of it. A way to get him out of the picture," Nines clarified, her falling into the couch. "The detective was proven innocent, the case put on ice, but the documents reemerged."
Gavin crossed his arms. "We suspect Vince somehow got ahold of the evidence, wanted to get back at the detective for finding out and paid someone to have it edited or hidden to clear his uncle's name."
"Oh my god..." she muttered, appearing out-of-breath.
"We're gonna bring him in to the precinct and ask him some questions. For now, we can't be sure -"
The door swung open.
Speaking of the devil, Nines mused, the accomplice frozen in the open doorway. Vince had seen Gavin first.
"Would you look at that? Loverboy himself!" Gavin said, clearly enjoying every second of this.
Eyes burning with rage, Vince stepped forward, stopping only when he was a few feet from Gavin. Gavin didn't budge. Vince clearly didn't know he was the son of the man he possibly framed, but Nines doubted he'd forgotten that scene at the bar when Gavin pulled him away from Laura. If anything, Vince probably suspected that Gavin was there to inform his wife about it.
"You," he muttered, venom in his muffled tone. "I swear, if you told her..."
Gavin arched an innocent brow. "You've gotta be more specific, buddy. The red ice, you stalking Laura Mason, or... oh, I don't know, the fact that you framed my fucking father for espionage? Take your pick."
Vince went pale as snow. With that look alone, Nines could tell they had their culprit. Gavin clicked the handcuffs off his belt and threw them over.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, if that's true, you wouldn't mind coming with us to the DPD."
"Listen here, you piece of shi -Ow, hey!"
Vince had taken a step forward and was simply yanked back. What followed was Nines throwing him into the wall, cheek pressed against it, the loud curses proving that he very much felt pain from the force Nines applied as his cheek rifted. Good. With a click, he had the metal slapped around his wrist. For all the problems he'd caused, Nines was ready to snap him in half.
The look he gave Gavin to ask for permission to do just that revealed his intentions. Gavin, however, shook his head. Pity. Vince didn't have a chance as his other arm was forced behind his back and attached to his other.
"I suggest you cooperate," Nines said, peeking up beneath his lashes. "Wouldn't want to make a scene in front of your family, would you?"
Forcibly yanking him away from the wall again that was almost enough to dislocate a shoulder, another fit of curses followed.
"Easy, Nines. Buddy boy's not going anywhere."
"Wasn't it for my partner, you'd be dead. Give him some credit," Nines said nonplussed.
The fear became apparent in Vince's eyes.
Despite Gavin's intervention, rage returned when Vince glared back at him. His wife had her kid's face turned away and to her chest, and luckily, he was too young to understand. There was some resistance, but Nines led Vince outside. Gavin exchanged a few words with Mrs. Brinks - said something and ruffled the kid's hair, resulting in the kid and his mom smiling, which revealed how good Gavin was with kids - before he as well approached the car. The suspect didn't waste another moment to begin berating him again.
"You won't get away with thi -"
Having heard enough, Nines landed a swift hit at a spot on the back of Vince's neck who immediately dropped to the ground.
Gavin puffed a laugh. "Oh, shit!" he exclaimed, visibly amused. Gavin stared down at the unmoving body and brushed a thumb against his own bottom lip. "You didn't hurt him too bad, right?"
"Besides his pride? No. Give it two minutes," Nines replied, throwing the unconscious man over his shoulder in a fireman carry.
A full-on laugh emerged from Gavin then.
It was a sound Nines wouldn't mind hearing more often.
~ DEC 28TH, 2038 * PM 09:37 ~
Once Vince regained consciousness and they got to the interrogation room, Gavin didn't waste another moment to get his answers.
He slapped down the documents in front of him. "How'd you get these?"
"I don't know."
"Oh, so these just magically popped into your possession?" Gavin expressed his sarcasm, a scowl touching his brow. "Listen, jackass. I could do this all day. If you won't talk, we'll make you talk."
"You're a fucking cop. You can't do shit."
"You're right, I can't," he replied, before gesturing to Nines "...but he can. I could always blame 'an incident' on a faulty android. All it takes is just a minor slip up. Maybe a beating that just got slightly out of hand because of faulty wiring. Can't blame me for that, and I fucking promise you, I've got plenty reasons to want you dead. So speak the fuck up."
Vince swallowed hard. "The answer is still, 'I don't know'."
For a moment, Gavin just glared. So did Nines and he came to a conclusion.
"He's telling the truth."
"Then who the fuck sent it to you?" Gavin demanded.
"I don't. Know," Vince repeated, sticking to his story. "The sender of the email was anonymous. I just gave the documents to the Feds."
Nines took the word. "If I see the email, I could identify the culprit. Do you have it?"
"Tell your plastic pet to stay outta this."
"My 'plastic pet' can intervene whenever the fuck he please, so you better cooperate," Gavin replied as he stood, palming his hands on the table to get face-to-face with Vince. "Answer him before I knock your teeth in."
Vince scowled. "No, asshole, I don't have the fucking email. I deleted the damn thing."
Again, he wasn't lying.
"Fucking hell," Gavin muttered, bowing his head before looking to Nines. "This is all we've got to work with. Any suggestions?"
"I could locate the deleted archive. His phone?"
When reaching out, Gavin handed over the device found among the evidence. Nothing on the internet ever disappeared fully. If it was first out there, it was out there, and nothing could prevent that. A quick scan revealed exactly what they needed.
#
TO: BRINKS, VINCE
FROM: #313 248 317 - 88
#
"Got it?"
Nines clenched his jaw. "RK900 #313 248 317 - 88. The android responsible for the murder of Lewis' wife and the same android who nearly killed me," he replied, Gavin's face falling ever so slightly. It all connected. "As for why CyberLife would target you and your father, your guess is as good as mine. At least now we know why there's been radio silence from him for so long. Still, he could've done all this far sooner and must have another reason for choosing not to strike yet. I can't logically place his reasoning."
Eighty-Eight had used Vince Brinks as bait by giving him those documents. That much he knew. Nevertheless, Nines had no idea why. CyberLife wanted Nines dead and thus it didn't make sense they'd target Gavin.
Blackmail, perhaps.
The RK900 had been sloppy and that was what didn't sit well with him. With more careful planning on Eighty-Eight's side, they never would've figured out who targeted Gavin's father in the first place. Nines was convinced that this RK900 wanted them to solve the case and it left even more questions. Eighty-Eight certainly wasn't an ally - the fact that he'd nearly killed Nines not too long ago, had those espionage documents reemerge, and paid someone off to have them edited with CyberLife's funds proved that - so Nines had insufficient data.
If Eighty-Eight wasn't a machine, he would've suspected they were being toyed with. Hunted for sport.
For some reason, CyberLife wanted this exact result.
Gavin pushed from the table.
"We've got our confession. Nice work," he said, giving Nines' shoulder a friendly squeeze before turning back to Vince. "You're looking at a lifetime behind bars, Brinks. Get comfy."
As the night carried on, he couldn't help but notice how Gavin seemed far happier. Stopping Brinks must've been a relief.
SOFTWARE INSTABILITY ^
EMPATHY EXPRESSED
1 RED WALL(S) REMOVED
[[[[[[[[[[/10- RA9 -10/]]]]]]]]]]
Fowler, however, wasn't happy at all. They had to explain that they'd gone behind his back to solve this case. When a detective was directly involved, they weren't allowed to partake in the investigation - something about it being too personal for rational thinking. Gavin proved just how competent of a detective he was by not letting said personal involvement affect his reasoning and actions. Thankfully, Fowler understood, and Gavin managed to keep his badge. He did get a disciplinary warning despite Nines' gentle protest, though.
They'd solved a case - prevented an innocent man from being sentenced to death - and that didn't go unnoticed.
GAVIN
~ DEC 28TH, 2038 * PM 11:45 ~
Ready to do their final inning for the day, Gavin had first retreated to the break room to get a coffee in order to stay awake. The familiar, bitter scent - a mild smell his leather jacket had absorbed - was a permanent addition and he couldn't say he minded it. Tina was there and curiosity got ahold of her, so he debriefed her about what happened while excluding unnecessary details. If he informed her about everything that he'd told Nines when seated on his car hood, he'd never hear the end of it. Part of him was still too stubborn to accept defeat.
One story led to another and they ended up talking about a case five years ago.
Feeling his hips grasped by lithe fingers and pulled towards a solid form, a brief panic washed over him. Gavin shot a look over his shoulder only to see that it was Nines. He could breathe out.
"Fucking 'hey' to you too, toaster."
"Straighten your back, sergeant. You're standing like a slut."
Tina guffawed. "Finally someone said it!"
"Look, I'm just waiting for Prince Charming to give me a good time. You're blocking the view," Gavin teased.
Arching an exasperated brow, Nines released him and settled in the chair to his left where he crossed his arms.
"First gay crush?" Tina asked in amusement.
Gavin shrugged. "In the third film, no doubt. Pretty sure I got my first boner during that 'lodging the knife in the sail' scene when he came for Cinderella. Guy didn't have much of a personality in the first one."
"Well, Nines got the disheveled hair tuft nailed down... and the knife."
"Shit, you're right," he replied, nudging him with his hip. Nines rolled his eyes and Gavin pushed the back of his palm against the RK900 logo. "As I was saying, the suspect made his life way harder than it had to be. All he had to do was shut his fucking mouth and he would get out in, like, a month or two. His crime wasn't big enough for a longer sentence until he just 'bout dug his own grave. Tried to avoid the arrest."
"I don't recall any of this," Nines commented.
Taken aback by the interruption, Gavin turned his attention to him. "What? Oh, fuck. Your display back there with Brinks just reminded me of a case I solved a few years back. You weren't even born yet."
"You couldn't have chosen an any less derogatory way of putting it?"
"Aww, did I hurt your feelings again?" he teased, reaching up to brush a thumb against the side of Nines' mouth. "Tell you what, I'll show you."
Gavin put down his coffee, took a few steps back onto the open floor and gestured him over.
"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?"
"What, don't you trust me?" he asked rhetorically, palms open. Gavin gave Nines' thigh a whack to get him moving. "Hurry the fuck up, we don't have all day. Put some hustle to those legs."
Nines pushed away from the table. Palm supporting her chin on the surface, Tina watched them with interest despite looking tired.
Gavin lightly kicked against the inside of Nines' foot to part his feet slightly.
He obliged. "What do you need me to do?"
"Pretty simple, tin can. Just throw a punch at me. Right hook," he replied as he pointed to his cheek, Nines giving him a look. "Trust me. Just don't do any of those follow-up moves you usually do. A simple punch, okay?"
So Nines swung.
Thanks to the training, he caught it, twisting it behind Nines' back. Nines humored him. The inside of Gavin's right foot paralleled the inside of Nines' foot, Gavin's hip side pushing lightly against Nines'. Nines arm, however, he kept pinned behind his back. His programming probably informed him that there were about a dozen ways to get out of such a situation, but he knew Gavin wanted him passive.
Gavin caught Tina's eye over his own shoulder. "So I got the suspect in this hold, right? Apparently he was convinced the hit would land, and when it didn't, he had no idea what the fuck to do. You should've seen the look on his face," he said, his enthusiasm shining through. "Before I knew it, he starts making an attempt to wriggle out. It was fucking annoying. So I added, like, a tiny bit of force to his arm to still him. He got all dramatic and fucking squirmed before he just dropped. You'll never guess what happened."
"He gave you a blowjob?" she joked.
"That'd be an outcome I certainly wouldn't expect," Nines joined in, getting down on his knees. "I can't help but imagine such a demonstration would be inappropriate in the middle of the break room, though."
"Fuck, that'd get the precinct talking for months," Gavin replied with a grin, tilting up Nines' head. "Bet it's a good look on you, so feel free."
"In your dreams, sergeant."
"Okay, ouch?" he feigned offense, before getting back to his story. "So what actually happened is that he dropped so fucking quickly his head just lodged right into a steam pipe, knocking him out cold."
"Oww!" Tina exclaimed, closing her eyes as if to suppress the image.
"It was fucking hilarious, and get this, he dropped on purpose so he could report me for assault! Thing is, that pipe wasn't part of his plan."
As Tina broke out laughing, Gavin helped Nines back up on his feet.
"I suspect his sentence increased considerably for wrongly accusing a police officer," Nines said.
"Sure did. From two months to two years. I even got a promotion for it."
Settling back against the table and finishing the remainder of his coffee in one go, the adrenaline of his enthusiasm had worn off - having been all over the place telling his story - and so did the caffeine. Gavin was tired. Insomnia had been an issue ever since his teenage years, moving out at the age of 16, realizing he had to make a life for himself. He started with energy drinks before switching to coffee. The two had gone for days without Gavin getting any sleep whatsoever and he was now really feeling it.
Nines, as always, took note. "You should let me take you home, Gavin."
Part of him wanted to argue while the other knew that coffee could only do so much. He was more agreeable when he needed shut-eye. After all, their icebreaker was back when he - tired as hell - first found Nines at his apartment.
"An hour, all right? I've got a report due tomorrow."
"Thirty minutes," Nines decided for him, taking the empty cup out of his hand before Gavin could think about refilling it. Gavin didn't even have the energy to react. "I'll take care of it if you're unable to finish."
There was something unbelievably hot about Nines putting down his foot like that.
He was already gone when Gavin opened his mouth to protest. To kick-start the process, probably. Find the document and have it ready for him. Maybe it was for the best. Gavin had always blamed Hank for showing up drunk to the DPD and putting his coworkers in danger because of it. What Gavin himself was doing - with the entire insomnia thing - was just as bad.
Hypocritical of him, he realized that now.
"Gav, wow, you're so head-over-heels that you don't even see it."
Gavin frowned. "I'm what now?"
"The touches, the teasing, the flirting... the fucking thigh-and-butt slaps? You're literally glued to him," she said, Gavin puffing a laugh as he averted his eyes. "Any excuse to touch him is a good one to you. Not to mention he was all heart-eyes when you went off with that story of yours. Fuck, just ask him. Make sure you keep in contact after he leaves for the State Department."
"Not fucking happening, Ti."
"I thought you got rid of that android hate-boner of yours."
"No, fuck, I didn't mean it like... Jesus, not like that. I have, all right? I fucking have."
"Then what's the issue?"
"There's no issue," he bit back, scowling slightly as he pushed away from the table. "I'm just not into Nin -"
Body freezing solid, it was as if he'd run straight into a brick wall. Denial was a powerful thing. Pressing his palms together, he brought the tips of his fingers to his lips, wide eyes darting as he stared into nothing.
Oh. Oh, PHCK.
He downright refused to believe that was the case.
Tina grimaced. "Holy shit, you actually didn't know?" she asked, fishing up her phone again. "When was your last lay?"
"What? Fuck, almost three weeks. Why?" he asked with mild annoyance, Tina briefly looking up underneath her lashes to give him an unimpressed look. It wasn't long before he realized what she meant. With the implication at hand, his brows shot up in a mocking manner, doe-eyes at full display. "You fucking serious? That doesn't have jack shit to do with it, Ti. I haven't had the time to dip out. My brain is too messed up for rational thinking after four days without sleep, so fucking hell, I just need to get laid. You're reading too much into it."
His phone pinged and Tina looked at him expectantly as she pocketed hers again. Not knowing what she was playing at, Gavin gave her a light glare and shuffled it out of his leather jacket. He unlocked the screen, opened the message, and saw the image Tina had just sent him. Him and Nines. It was taken five minutes ago.
Now Gavin was the one with questions.
"Give me an explanation as to why you're so happy in this picture and I'll get off your back."
"Fucking hell, how did you even take that?"
"Well, of course you didn't notice. You were too busy eye-fucking Robocop," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes. "I'm a lifetime subscriber to Gavin Reed's happiness and I will forever cherish this image."
"Wanna make me happy? Delete it."
"No can do, bitch. Blackmail," she replied, smirking in triumph. "Stop being such a drama queen. It's not a long stretch. I've known you long enough to realize what's going on in that pretty head of yours and Nines is your exact type. We both know you've wanted to bone him since day one. That's not exactly something you've tried to hide, Gav."
Gavin let out a scoff. "The fuck does that have to do with anything?"
"What, you wanna become a crazy cat lady, is that it?"
"Yes."
Tina sighed. "You're infuriating at times, you know that? Too fucking bad. I'm not giving up that easily," she replied, grabbing Gavin's arm in an iron grip when he made an attempt to just get back to work. "Tell you what. New Year's Eve is in less than three days. We always go out for drinks, right? This time you ask Nines to be your date. You know I'm bringing Eleanor this year - and I'm aware you told me you don't mind that - but I don't want you feeling like a third wheel, 'cause let's face it, I know you will. This is perfect."
"Did you not hear me?" he said, stricter now.
Nonchalant, Tina held his glare.
"You've gotta get over it someday, Gav," she muttered, Gavin pressing his lips together and refusing to hold her now concerned gaze. "I know you struggle with attachment and shit, but this thing you're doing? This 'strong, independent tough-guy who don't need no man' bull-crap has got to end. I'm not letting you kill yourself over it anymore. Nines isn't Craig. He's not gonna end up at the other side of the barrel and you're not gonna have to put him behind bars. You're not still thinking that he's just warming up to you to get to Connor, right?"
"Of-fucking-course not. Hell, I trust you and the stoic toaster more than anyone."
"Then stop telling yourself that he'll fuck you over. CyberLife has no control over him anymore and I can see that he cares about you... he also cares about me, and Connor, Hank, and Chris. Fuck, I'll bet an entire year's pay that the reason why you've been giving him such a hard time is that he's got more power over you than anyone... and not in the sexy way." Power because he knew of Gavin's past. Like always, Tina was right. Nines did know more than anyone and he realized it scared him. "Just think about it -"
At the abrupt end of her sentence, her eyes went wide. She was looking straight past him. Gavin turned and utter horror enveloped his entire being as he saw what she was looking at.
Shoulder casually pressed up against the side of the doorway frame, Nines' hands were pocketed in his jeans.
His body went cold.
Absentmindedly, Tina shuffled up her jacket. "All right, that's the sign for me to dip out."
Gavin shot her an icy glare, shortly turning into a look of desperation as she made a move to leave.
"Tina. Ti. Ti, hey, no," he begged as she rose from her seat, grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around just as she tried to push past. Gavin placed her between him and Nines. "Don't you fucking dare piss off right now."
She patted his cheek. "You'll be fine, douchebag."
Cursing under his breath, he had no choice but to let go of her. His hand balled into a fist and he refused to look anywhere near the doorway. In his peripheral vision, Tina threw her arms around Nines' neck for a hug - who probably looked just as nonplussed, as always, but Gavin didn't check - whom he could tell was hugging her back. Propping his hands to the table behind him and leaning to it, Gavin's eyes closed tightly shut under furrowed brows. This was going to be a shitty conversation regardless of the outcome.
"Have a good night, Tina," Nines said, his ever-calm voice revealing nothing.
"You too, Robocop. Get him home before he passes out."
"I'll do my best."
Thus she left. Aside from the gentle humming of the fridge - and the clinking of Tina's boots retracting - there was an eerie silence.
He was left with two choices. One, hurt Nines by telling him - directly - that he wasn't interested in a relationship, or two, tell Nines his reasoning for it and - in the process - admit he was scared.
Frankly, he didn't know if he could do the latter.
He was too proud.
Gavin trusted Nines with his life, but despite that, admitting weakness was something he found himself incapable of doing.
Relationships - especially romantic ones - was something he attempted to avoid at any cost. The vulnerability that came with, and the power that was given to a significant other, was something he didn't want to expose himself to again. To give someone the power to hurt and relish in the victory that they'd broken a heart that still tried to recover. Never again would his hurt feed on someone else's ego, and never again would he let someone use him like that again, so he tread lightly. Didn't grow attached and didn't take any chances.
At least he tried not to.
He'd trusted Craig with his life, too. That didn't stop the guy from hurting him. It left an invisible scar that no amount of plastic surgery could remove. Not that he ever thought of it, though. His scars were part of him - some prouder than the others - both physical and mental ones. Despite them not being pretty to look at, he learned from them, reminding him never to repeat his mistakes.
Now strangely conscious of said scars, Gavin absentmindedly ran a thumb over the most prominent one draped across half his face - briefly removing it from Nines' prying eyes - but there was little he could do to hide it.
He wore it as a badge of honor, but it was another insecurity of his.
One of many.
Gavin let his hand drop. "How long you been standing there, tin can?"
He was again leaning to the frame with pocketed hands when Gavin finally built up the courage to meet his eye, and after what just occurred, everything felt different. The air was slowly suffocating him. Gavin's heartrate had increased, his body burning, and the culprit before him was none the wiser as to why. Nines was indeed his exact type and he was only now realizing it. His confident way of carrying himself. His powerful and strong build. His dark voice. His personality. It had been over a decade since he last felt anything like this.
He wanted to run.
Nevertheless, his escape was blocked.
So he endured.
"Since, 'stop telling yourself that he'll fuck you over'," he replied, giving him peace of mind. The relief was short-lived to a fault, however. "Be that as it may, I do have enhanced hearing. The entire precinct - as well as the break room - is within the vicinity regardless of where my unit currently resides in the building."
The conversation he thought he'd just narrowly escaped was inevitable after all.
"...and?" he demanded, a light hammering at his temples. "You got anything to say to that, dipshit?"
Nines frowned. "I've been well-aware of your physical attraction to me since day two, Gavin, and you know that. This isn't news."
"Yeah, I fucking know that! Shit was established way back when you broke into my apartm -"
Wait, what? he mused. Confusion spread on Gavin's face, mouth opening just to close again. Physical? Realization struck that nothing in his and Tina's conversation had directly stated the attraction was more than physical. He would've laughed if it wasn't for the lump that had yet to leave his throat. 'Date' could be interpreted as platonic, after all.
"Yes?" Nines encouraged him to continue, brow arched.
"Forget it."
His bored expression returning, Nines' gaze averted. "As for Tina's 'heart-eyes' comment, I admit, I do find the way you tell your stories quite endearing. How you use your entire body with over-exaggerated hand gestures. Your enthusiasm is... infectious. It's easy to hold onto every word," he replied, and something traitorously fluttered in Gavin's chest when he met his eye again. Nines was silent for a moment before he asked his next question. One he'd rather not answer. "Who's Craig?"
The guy who made me give up on relationships for good.
"Just an ex," he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "Guy led an illegal fight club and found out I was a cop, so he got into my pants in order to have me cover for him in case shit hit the fan."
"Was he ever caught?"
Gavin let out a scoff. "'Course he was. That was a long time ago. I was a mostly fresh-faced rookie in his middle twenties."
"I can only infer you didn't know of his illegal activities going in."
"Not until about the end of our second year. Fucker was in it for the long haul, I'll give him that. After covering for him for three months, I eventually came to my senses and informed the DPD. Fowler wasn't happy, but Hank stepped up. Let me go with a disciplinary warning. I was part of the patrol sent to bring 'em in and got to cuff him. Craig didn't know I was the one to rat him out, thank fucking god, as I'm sure he would've sent some assholes after me. I fucked up. That's all there is to it."
"For maintaining a relationship for so long, this Craig must've cared despite using you in such a way."
Maybe.
Gavin let out a scoff. "He better have. I gave him the best fucking sex he could ask for."
With his attempt at lighting up the conversation, Nines seemed to let it rest.
"Should we proceed, then? You still have that report to finish, and as it appears that you're just about to pass out, time is of the essence."
"I'm coming, tin can. Just go."
Shooing him away again, Nines returned to the desk. He could tell him, he knew that, but it wasn't worth it. Nothing was. Not to mention that Nines didn't understand any of it. He had told him that himself.
If Gavin was oblivious, Nines topped that by ten, as such emotions were something he never had experienced - an unknown - meaning that it scared Nines, too. Nines was a control-freak, through-and-through, with the need to know every contingency. Have seven backup plans. Starting something with an un-deviated android was the literal recipe of disaster and just asking to get hurt. Tina did well with Eleanor who was an ST300, sure, but Eleanor had been deviant for a long time.
Gavin was also far less lucky in his dating life because of how difficult he was.
Not to mention that Nines was leaving in less than two weeks. If it wasn't for Tina bringing it up in the first place, he'd be in the bliss of denial and ignorance, and now everything was simply falling apart all around him.
He was already miffed about him leaving. Why did the toaster have to complicate matters even more?
After returning to work, Gavin managed to fall asleep on his desk at the 15-minute mark. When he was woken up the next day to see the RK900 jacket draped around his shoulders - as well as the coffee being placed on his desk and the matter-of-fact, "Good morning, sergeant" in addition - he knew it was going to be an insufferable few weeks.
Hopefully by January 9th - when Nines was transferred - he'd be over it.
He had to.
A/N: ...and thus the (currently one-sided) pining begins. Sorry, Gav. That's what you get for being a dick to my boi Connor. BTW, if you genuinely think that Cinderella III: A Twist In Time was a shit movie, we can't be friends. Fight me (ง •̀_•́)ง
