Disclaimer: I do not own Detroit: Become Human. This story contains violence, abuse, and dark themes. Viewer discretion is advised.
DATE: - -, -
TIME: 11:05:01 A.M
"Stop slouching." Mother corrected Gabriel's posture, squeezing his shoulder. He immediately brought up his strained shoulders. He had been standing in the same position for what felt like hours and was ready to rest at this point.
"I'm almost done, Mrs. Kamski." Mr. Manfred said from behind his canvas, skillfully maneuvering his brush across it.
"Do not rush, Carl." Father spoke up, "This must be perfect."
"It will be, sir. I promise you that." Then, with a final swipe of his paintbrush, he stepped back and examined his work. "Please, look for yourself, Mr. Kamski." Father moved out from behind his children and took a look at the painting. Gabriel watched how his eyes combed over the painting, and his lip curled ever so slightly.
"Well done." He congratulated the painter with an approving nod. "I know why my mother chose you. You've perfectly captured Judith's eyes." Mother walked over, too, admiring her painted visage.
"Indeed, it does." It was rare for him to see Mother smile the way she did.
"You did an admiral service today, Mr. Manfred, and shall be rewarded handsomely for such."
"Thank you, Mr. Kamski. It was my pleasure." The painter gave a courteous nod.
"Children," Gabriel perked up as Father addressed him and Eli. "Head to the study hall and get started on your studies."
"Yes, Father." His voice was softer than Eli's, but Father didn't seem to care.
"Peter, Rebecca," both assistants stood to attention at Father's voice. "Peter, clean up the set and place this glorious painting above the master fireplace. Rebecca, see our guest out."
"Yes, Master Kamski." They responded in unison. Father and Mother left the room to where he didn't know.
"C'mon, Gabe." Eli urged him to follow.
"Wait, would you two like to look at the painting?" Mr. Manfred offered.
"We need to head to our studies," Eli answered for the both of them.
"I believe taking a moment to view Mr. Manfred's hard work shouldn't be too much of an issue," Rebecca assured the brothers. Gabriel wasn't sure what it was, but he trusted her smile.
"It'll only be for a second, Eli." He said hopefully, and he watched as Eli's lips tightened.
"Fine then." Eli relented, and they walked up to look at the painting.
"Wow," was all Gabriel could gasp, staring at the painted faces of his family.
"What do you two think?" Mr. Manfred asked. "I want to make sure everyone I painted is satisfied."
"Yes, it's very appealing," Eli said with a slight nod, a show of his appreciation.
"… I think it looks really nice, sir." Gabriel eventually complimented the artist; it felt strange saying aloud what he thought. It was nice to see his family captured together in one moment that had them all smiling. He hoped that one day, the family in the painting would come to life.
DATE: December 13, 2038
TIME: 10:03:06 A.M
Gavin walked into the precinct, ready for the first day of his soon-to-be assigned investigation. He was never one to purposefully ruin investigations but now was an exception. The risk of losing his job for tampering with evidence was more favorable than the repercussions if the truth of the situation came to light. He didn't know what his family wouldn't do to keep their family business private.
"Good morning, Detective Reed." Madison happily greeted from the front desk, her LED a bubbly blue. She was one of the few remaining androids still working at the precinct. It was weird seeing human receptionists behind the desk with her.
"It's too early to be that perky." He grumbled as he passed her, but that didn't hinder her smile. Walking to his desk, he noted that Anderson and Connor weren't at their desks but in Fowler's office. Tina was already walking up to his desk by the time he was relaxing back in his chair.
"So, how'd it go?" she asked, sitting up on his desk.
"How'd what go?"
"The meeting with Kamski. I heard he got really fucked up."
"Eh, he said it wasn't that bad." Gavin shrugged.
"Not that bad?" Chris scoffed, looking up from his monitor. "It looked like a fight to the death happened in that house."
"He's one of the richest men alive. He's probably got a shit ton of houses." Gavin said like he was stating the obvious. "It isn't as exciting as it looks. A couple of scumbags just broke in to probably steal some shit, and things got out of hand.
"It could be just that," Tina said, "Or it could be something more. Like someone's got it out for him."
"Honestly, that's what I was thinking too," Chris said, hand to his chin. "I mean, nothing was stolen. It could have been a hit."
"Or maybe to try and kidnap him?" She added on.
"Or maybe you two are acting like you're in some crappy spy movie." Gavin scoffed. Tina raised a brow.
"C'mon, Gav. Do you really believe it's just one big ol' coincidence that right after an Android Revolution, the damn creator of androids is attacked?"
"Yes, enough to put money on it." He grinned smugly.
"Alright, bet." She shot back, a smile of her own forming. "Ten bucks says there's spy shit going on."
"That's gonna be a tough loss when it turns out this is just a failed robbery done by shitty thieves.
"You want to get in on this, Chris?" Tina offered.
"As fun as it is to lose money on dumb bets, I'll have to pass."
"Yeah, 'cause you know you'll lose." Gavin jabbed.
"More like I have a kid." Chris rolled his eyes.
"Your loss," Tina said as she shook Gavin's hand.
"So, this is what you do in your spare time." A different voice chimed in, drawing the group's attention to the newcomer. "Interesting," Eli commented with an almost amused expression, his black hoodie loose on his form and his arm put back in the sling.
"Oh, sorry, Mr. Kamski. We didn't see you." Tina apologized, hopping off of the desk. It was amusing to see how quickly she went from her regular voice to her professional voice.
"Officer Chen," she held out her hand, and Eli accepted her handshake.
"Yes, I heard you were the one who took care of Chasity."
"Yes, sir. She was banged up, but the technicians said they could repair her without issue."
"Thank you, Officer Chen, for being there for her."
"Just doing my job, sir." She smiled proudly.
"Thank you to you as well, Officer Miller," he said, turning to face Chris. "I know that night was hectic, but you maintained your composure despite it all." Gavin felt like that was a dig at him, but he kept quiet as Eli and Chris shook hands.
"Happy to be of service, sir," Chris said. "How are your injuries?"
"Nothing too serious, thankfully."
"Good to hear. How can I help you today?"
"I've come to file an official report. I was told to come back here."
"Yes, sir, I can help you here."
"Reed!" The interjection of Gavin's name made him flinch and look to see Fowler in the doorway to his office. "Get in here."
"Oh, what did you do this time?" Tina teased quietly as they walked off.
"Shut it, tiny." He shot back, walking up to the captain's office while she returned to her desk. Anderson was seated before Fowler at his desk, with Connor standing beside him. He stood on the other side of Anderson but further back.
"What do you need, Captain?" He asked with his arms crossed over his chest.
"As you know, there's a new investigation into what happened at the Kamski residence," Fowler started, "I'd like you to take part in it." Looks like Eli's intuition was right. Again.
"You fucking serious?" He scoffed.
"You're not the only one thrilled about this, Reed." Anderson sarcastically remarked.
"Listen," Fowler's tone was firm like a hammer, "With all the android and human tensions boiling, we can't risk the creator of androids getting fucking murdered. There's already enough android-related crime as is."
"But why drag me into this?" Gavin questioned. "These two did just fine on their own when dealing with androids before."
"Connor suggested that you join in." He snapped his gaze to Connor, who continued looking straight ahead. Though he could swear, he saw a twinge of a smile on the android's face. "And I agree with him. We need all we can to get this solved before disaster happens."
"You really can't get Collins on this or some shit? 'Cause I—"
"Dammit, Reed," Fowler caught him off with a curse that sounded more like a sigh "Anderson, Connor, you can leave my office. Detective Reed will be joining you shortly." The pair left without a fuss, though he saw Connor give a parting glance before he shut the office door. "Get over here, Gavin," Gavin obliged with a roll of his eyes. "Listen, Gavin," Fowler didn't speak gently, but softer than his usual harsh tone, resting his elbows on the desk. "I know you've been slacking recently."
"Slacking?" The captain raised a hand for him to stop talking.
"Let me finish. You've been doing a piss-poor job as of late. Making lazy mistakes that would have fucked up cases if someone else wasn't there to cover your ass." It stung his integrity hearing those words, though he kept his mouth shut. "But I know that isn't you. I know your better than the shit you've been doing. You've lost your spark, and you better find it before your badge joins the pile in my desk. You need to tighten up, and this is your chance. Do you understand me?"
"… Yes, sir… When do I start?"
"As soon as you walk out that door. Now get out of my office and get to work." There was a hint of hope in his voice.
"Yes, sir." Gavin wouldn't call himself an actor, but he'd say he didn't do too bad of a performance playing the reluctant work partner. He preferred to work with Chris, and Tina was a close second. Gavin hadn't worked on a case with Anderson in ages, and it would be his first time with the detective android. He could pull this off for Eli's sake and theirs.
TIME: 11:02:01 A.M.
Gavin focused on the road ahead as he drove towards the landfill, trying to ignore the android sitting in the passenger seat. He wouldn't have chosen to be partnered with Connor; however, it made sense for him and Eli to split up. The thought of hot-headed Anderson working with uptight Eli was almost comical to him.
"Detective Reed," he wondered how long it would take until Connor spoke up. "I'd like to thank you for your cooperation in this investigation."
"Enjoy it while it lasts." He mumbled back.
"You sound tired." It wasn't a lie that he didn't sleep well the previous night. Reuniting with his brother and being out of medication made sleeping nearly impossible.
"I'm irritated, not tired."
"… Is there anything I could do to help?"
"You know what, tin can, you've always got some question to bother me with. How about I ask you something this time around. Why'd you fucking nominate me to join this shit?" There was a pause before Connor answered.
"Well, there are many reasons. One of them being that you're an impressive detective for your age if your records have anything to show." Of course, he'd look into his work history. It wasn't a surprise that the android designed to be a detective would be curious about everything and everyone. "Another is that I wanted the opportunity to work with you, to see if we can be compatible."
"Compatible? Like sticking a cracked drive into a slow computer?"
"More like combining a oiled motor and premium engine to create a faster car. My final reason is your relationship with Mr. Kamski." That made Gavin snap his head to face the android, who was looking back at him.
"My what?"
"Your connection with Mr. Kamski."
"And by that, you mean?"
"You may not have noticed, but on the night we went to Mr. Kamski's residence, he shied away from the touch of the paramedics. But not from yours. He didn't appear disturbed by your touch when you helped him into the ambulance."
"Huh, I didn't notice," Gavin returned his gaze to the road, a flood of relief cooling his chest.
"For whatever the reason may be, he has a basic level of trust in you. As Mr. Kamski isn't always cooperative, we can use that trust to help with the investigation."
"We'll see." He could smell the foul garbage as he pulled up to the landfill. The gross smells and loud grinding of the compactors were almost enough to give him a headache. "Let's be quick. I don't know how long I can stand the smell of this shit." He complained as they walked into the landfill. He doubted they'd find anything in the mountains of trash, but he still kept his eyes peeled just in case. "Have you found anything yet, tin can?" He asked, kicking over a glass bottle out of frustration. The bottle made a weird-sounding thump as it landed on a pile of garbage bags, piquing his interest.
"Not yet." The android replied as he looked dissatisfiedly into a cardboard box. Gavin kneeled down by the bags, seeing a tiny hole in the largest one. He pulled at it, opening the hole wider to see—
His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the pale blue eye staring back at him, dull and lifeless with exposed wire peeking out from its lower lid. Even with little of the face left intact, he could immediately tell who it was.
"Did you find anything, Detective Reed?" He took in a silent breath at Connor's question. Connor would notice the spike in his stress if he let himself get overwhelmed. He needed to be calm.
"Nothin' but more shit," he grumbled. Kicking more trash over the bag. "We're not gonna get anywhere like this. We need to split up to cover more ground if we stand a chance of finding anything in all of this crap."
"Agreed. I'll call out if I find anything."
"Yeah, I will too." He watched Connor walk off further into the landfill, waiting until he was out of sight and his footsteps faded to kneel back to the bag.
He further opened the hole, not expecting to cringe when seeing the destroyed android crumpled up in the bag like a decayed mummy. Her ripped and stained blue dress confirmed his assumption that this was Chloe. Had been Chloe. He didn't know whether it was the original Chloe or another model that Eli had made. All Gavin knew was that she was dead and didn't have a peaceful death. He'd seen enough crime scenes to know that whoever had done this wanted her more than dead. He wasn't sure whether to feel distressed at how brutal the Kamski attack was or angry that Eli didn't tell him how brutal the attack actually was. So, he decided to feel both.
He checked the other bags to see that they were filled with dirty and ripped clothes, dried blood staining the worn fabric. He needed to get rid of this, but where… The rhythmic thumping he had disregarded as background noise stood out from all the chaos. Looking around and seeing the coast was clear, he dragged the bags over to a compactor. He tossed in the bags of clothes with ease. It was satisfying to see the bags crushed between the grinding gears.
The body bag felt heavy in his arms, hefting it up on the rim, but he struggled to push it in. She wasn't alive. Hell, it was just a piece of plastic mimicking a human being. So, why was the thought of shoving it into a compactor so stomach-churning?
"Detective Reed, I've found something!" He heard Connor call out from further away, but he knew he was walking closer.
"Coming, tin can!" He shouted back, letting the bag tumble down into the metal maws. He turned away as the crunch of snapping plastic chewed behind him. He found Connor around the bend of a trash pile, a successful glint in his brown eyes. "What you'd find?"
"This," the android held up a muck-stained card with its end ripped off.
"Which is?"
"It's a business card, but it's stained with traces of thirium."
"Blue blood, right?"
"Correct."
"And let me guess, it belongs to a model of Kamski's androids?"
"An ST200, to be exact." He handed over the card for Gavin to examine.
"Well, I'll be damned." Gavin scoffed in surprise, reading the card.
"What is it?"
"I eat here like every Wednesday. So how in the hell could this dingy bar be involved with this?"
"That's what we'll find out."
"They're closed today, but they open up tomorrow. Not too shabby, tin can."
"Thank you, Detective." Connor shot him what he must have thought was a grateful grin, but it looked more like a quirky smirk to Gavin. He guessed working with Connor wasn't all bad.
TIME: 11:13:06 A.M.
It was weird to Hank to see anyone else besides Connor sitting in the passenger seat. Kamski wasn't a bad passenger. He had been entirely silent, looking out of the window. He wasn't expecting the reclusive man to be talkative, but complete silence wasn't something he was looking for either. The empathetic part of him rationalized that the silence was from the trauma of being attacked in his own home. However, the investigator part of his brain told him it was because he was keeping something secret. He didn't trust Kamski and believed the distrust was mutual. If he wanted to figure out what was going on, he'd have to at least try and build some connection with the man.
"So," he slowly started, "How's your arm, Kamski?"
"Just fine, Lieutenant." Kamski didn't look at him as he responded.
"Who exactly is this doctor guy we're seeing?"
"Dr. Zhuang is a head practitioner at the Olive Branch Rehabilitation center. Since the intruders were on some substance, they'd be logged in if any of them went through rehab."
"And we could narrow down suspects from there."
"Precisely."
"But why would he only talk if you're there?" he heard Kamski click his tongue.
"It's a complex situation." A buzzing sound from Kamski's hoodie pocket interrupted him. He reached inside and pulled out a vibrating flip phone that looked like one Hank had used when he was much younger. Kamski gave it one look and shoved it back into his hoodie.
"Who was that?" Hank inquired.
"Spam call. Now to answer your question. To put it simply, he was my classmate throughout college. He is very private and will only be incentivized to discuss such delicate matters when he knows I'm involved."
"So, he's your friend, basically?"
"If you ask him, yes. Turn here. It's right up the street." Indeed, the facility was, it looked welcoming, with its colorful flower beds lining the entrance walkway and a cheerful man with freckled cheeks behind the front desk.
"Good morning, sirs," he greeted the pair with a friendly grin, his nametag reading Clifford and his LED beaming blue. Even without the LED, Hank recognized the face of the standard home assistant android only with brown hair instead of blonde. He thought they were household androids, but he corrected himself with the fact that deviants could change their careers like everyone else. "How may I help you today?"
"Hi, I'm Lieutenant Anderson from the DPD. I called in earlier to see if I could speak to Dr. Zhuang with my guest, Mr. Kamski." He gestured to Kamski.
"Oh!" Clifford's eyes lit up, looking at Kamski. "I knew you looked familiar. It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Kamski." Kamski gave an appreciative nod.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Clifford. What did Dr. Zhuang say about meeting with us?"
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry to say that the doctor hasn't gotten back to me yet. He's busy with the flood of new patients we've been getting."
"Could you try calling him, please?" Hank asked. "This investigation is important."
"I can try." Clifford dialed a number into the phone on his desk. "I just want to say," he said over the ringing phone, "Thank you so much, Mr. Kamski." Kamski quirked a brow.
"What for?"
"For creating us, of course. I would have never known how wonderful it feels to do something as important as caring for the sick or something as simple as planting tulips."
"Oh…" a faint smile graced Kamski's lips. "Of course."
"You called, Cliff," an impatient voice came from the phone.
"Yes, doctor," Clifford answered. "I don't know if you saw, but I sent you a message about the Lieutenant and his guest that wants to speak with you. You won't believe—"
"Ugh, please just tell them that I'm busy."
"But—"
"No, 'ifs,' 'ands' or 'buts' about it. I'm—"
"Liam, it's me," Kamski cut into the conversation with a slight irritation to his tone, leaning over the desk. The other end went silent for a moment.
"Mr. Elijah?" he sounded dumbfounded.
"Yes, Elijah. We wish to speak to you as soon as possible. When can we come up?"
"Right now, is just fine." The doctor said with a drastic change in his tone. "Cliff, get somebody to bring them to my office this instant."
"Right away, sir." Clifford hung up on the call, standing up from his seat. "It's not too far, so I can take you." He said as he led the pair out of the lobby. They passed by many patients visiting and attending in the mint green halls and cozy-looking rooms. Some Hank recognized. They came to a mahogany door with the name 'Dr. Liam Zhuang' molded into a golden plaque. Clifford knocked.
"Your guests are here, doctor."
"Please, let them in then." The doctor hurriedly called from the other side of the door. The android did so.
"Welcome, lovely guests." Dr. Zhuang greeted them from his desk as they walked into his office, with paintings of flowers, pictures of what Hank assumed were family, and framed awards hanging up on the walls. "Please have a seat." He said, gesturing to the seats before his desk and adjusting the collar of his doctor's coat. "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Elijah." Hank found it weird how the doctor didn't bring attention to Kamski's injuries, though he kept that observation to himself.
"Likewise." Kamski nonchalantly replied, sitting down in his seat, Hank doing the same.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant," the doctor turned his attention to Hank. "What can I help you with today?"
"Just answering a couple of questions is all." Hank started, "You see, there's an ongoing investigation, and the suspects of interest are suspected to be connected to drugs in some way. Are there any patients you have that stopped showing up or have violent tendencies?"
"There's a lot of names that come to mind…" the doctor put a hand to his chin in thought. It was a quick movement, but Hank caught the doctor's eyes shift to Kamski, who made the slightest tilt of his head. "But there are a few that stand out to me," he continued, turning to his computer and typing. "Despite the whole solving crimes thing and whatnot, how's life been treating you, Lieutenant?"
"Good for the most part. I hear you're getting more patients than you're used to."
"Well, with the whole android rights going on, people just can't crack open androids for their drugs like they used to. So, they end up coming here to get clean."
"And how's that going?"
"Some patients are more successful than others." The doctor chuckled. "Alright, I have a list here of all the patients that aren't so on the straight and narrow. I'll have it printed out for you." The office door was opened by an older orderly, her grey hair tied up in a bun. "Janis here will take you to the printer, Lieutenant Anderson."
"Thanks." Hank got up to follow the orderly, but Kamski remained seated. The orderly took him to the printer down the hall. He thought of starting small talk, but from the sour expression on her face, he decided not to.
"Here you are, sir." Her coarse voice mumbled as she handed over the paper. She walked off before he could say 'thank you, and he walked back to the office. He noticed the door was slightly cracked and heard the doctor and Kamski speaking from inside. He quietly leaned in closer to catch onto the conversation.
"… Sorry, Mr. Elijah. I tried to be as quick as I could."
"You had no control over what happened."
"No, I mean… You know I had to contact them, right?"
"I'm well aware, yes. I assume I have about five minutes."
"Kinda like three and a half."
"Good enough. We'll be taking our leave now." Hank backed away from the door as he heard Kamski approach, and he opened the door. "We're done here, Lieutenant."
"I'm happy I could be of help to you two. Have a good day." The doctor said as a final farewell, though Kamski was already halfway down the hallway before he finished.
"Hey, wait up a second," Hank called out to him, matching his quick pace. "We're leaving so soon."
"We came here for a list of suspects, and that's what we have obtained. So, we no longer have business here." Kamski responded without a misstep.
"Okay, but why are you booking it like your life depends on it."
"Because—" the buzzing in his pocket cut him off once again, and this time he silenced it without sparing a glance at the caller ID, "We have a tight schedule."
"Tight schedule? I've got jack shit plan—" he was cut off when Kamski pulled him down a different hallway with surprising strength for someone so injured. "What the hell?!"
"This is a shortcut," Kamski explained, a noticeable crease in his brow.
"I just want you to know that you're acting suspicious."
"That's subjective." Finally, they reached the door leading to the lobby, Kamski pulling it open only to nearly crash into the person on the other side.
"Hey, watch whe—" the young man's words faltered into a surprised gasp as he processed who stood before him. "Elijah?! You're— Oh my god, what happened to you?"
"I don't have time to talk." Kamski brashly responded, trying to brush past him, but the young man stood firm.
"Wait, please, don't go!" The young man pleaded, grabbing onto Kamski's shoulder. "I-I haven't seen you since—I've been wanting to— Fuck, what I'm trying to say—" he was silenced when Kamski slapped his hand over his mouth.
"Listen, Leo," Kamski said quietly, looking the young man in the eyes. "I have much more pressing issues to deal with right now. So, I have to leave, understand?" Leo nodded with a saddened look in his soft brown eyes. Kamski let him go, and he stepped aside.
"See ya." Kamski only gave him a brief nod before moving on, with Hank moving to his side.
"Excuse me, Mr. Kamski—" They ignored Clifford's call as they headed out of the facility and into the car, with Kamski constantly looking over his shoulder and only appearing relaxed when they were driving away. Then, Hank saw something in his rearview mirror. He let his older eyes focus and saw Clifford standing outside in the entryway. Even being so far away, Hank could see the frown twisting the android's face. Hank looked away with a shudder.
"I'd say that was successful," Kamski said with a small smirk.
"That we can agree on. Here, you can take a look and see if any name stands out to you." Hank handed over the list to the other man.
"Who was that guy you ran into?" Hank asked.
"Someone I used to tutor. It's a shame. If I had the time, I would have congratulated him on his sobriety... That's interesting."
"What?" Kamski pointed to a name on the paper.
"I recognize one of these names. Michael Price. He used to be a technician at CyberLife."
"And will he only talk to me if you're there?"
"Not exactly. He'll talk to you just fine I believe. But I have the code that gets into his neighborhood."
"You know where he lives?"
"We lived in the same neighborhood before I moved out. It's your choice whether or not you require my presence." Hank pondered if this was a trick of some sort. With how Kamski talked with the doctor and his rush to leave, Hank knew his intuition was right about something being off about all of this. Though he wouldn't know what until he delved deeper into what Kamski was hiding.
"Yeah, you can tag along. You know your way around the neighborhood and already know more about this guy than I do." He gauged Kamski's reaction, but there wasn't anything to examine on his emotionless face.
"Understood." He said indifferently. Hank side-eyed him for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the road.
TIME: 3:11:03 P.M.
Gavin kept an eye out for Eli as he drove alone down the quiet road. He was sure this was the meeting spot Eli had given him. So he pulled out his phone and dialed Eli's number, waiting anxiously as it rang.
"Yes," he was relieved to hear Eli on the other end.
"I'm here, Mr. Kamski. Where the hell are you?"
"Drive to the street sign, and I'll meet you there." He did so and found Eli heading his way with his hood up, putting away his flip phone, and quickly getting into the passenger seat. "So, how was your day?" he greeted, pulling down his hood as Gavin drove.
"You know," Gavin started, "Despite the whole dumping a body into a fucking trash compacter, I'd say it went pretty good." Sarcasm coated his words.
"Oh, whose body?" Gavin didn't know if Eli's nonchalant response was his genuine reaction or him playing into his sarcasm.
"Are you saying there are more bodies than just that Chloe android?"
"No, I was simply asking whose body you disposed of. I'm not omniscient." He shot his brother a side eye at the remark. "But now that I know it was Chloe's previous body, you took the right course of action."
"Previous body?"
"I've designed Chloe so that if her current body is too damaged to function, her intelligence will be uploaded to a new body. What you found was the body that was destroyed in the altercation. Chloe herself is perfectly functional."
"And who did that to her?" Gavin pried, even though he could guess what Eli's response would be, but it was always worth a try.
"It doesn't matter who did it."
"Was it Solomon?"
"Yes, it was, actually."
"Okay, that's just your way to get me to stop asking, isn't it?"
"Did it work?"
"… For now." He didn't want to fight Eli on an issue he wouldn't budge on anytime soon. "Anyways, Connor found a blue blood-stained business card for a bar. We plan to go there tomorrow."
"Hm," Eli hummed, taking in the information. "There shouldn't be any issues with that. Just keep your eyes out for anyone suspicious."
"Did something happen at the doctor's visit?"
"We were able to leave before anyone could stop us. But once they realize who all is working on this case, they'll have their eyes on you."
"Who do you think they'll send?"
"I can't say. It's been so long since I've been involved that I don't know if workers have been let go, if they have new people, or if they stopped using androids." Gavin's grip tightened on the steering wheel as a pulse of fear numbed his fingers, eyeing the many people they drove past. "Apologies, I didn't mean to frighten you." It could be irritating at times with how quickly Eli could read him.
"You're not fucking scaring me." he scoffed. "I'm not a little kid anymore. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of you." Eli silently nodded his head, but with how his lips were pursed, Gavin could tell he was holding something back.
"... Were those officers I met your friends?"
"Tina and Chris? Yeah, I'd call them friends."
"They seem pleasant."
"I had a feeling you'd like them." Finally, they made it to the apartment complex, and Eli had his hood pulled up as they walked through the lobby and halls. He opened up his apartment door and let Eli walk in first.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Reed," he shut the door at the voice, turning around and relaxing when he saw an elderly woman walking down the hall with her cane tapping on the tiled floor. "Was the day kind to you?" she asked, smiling. A domestic android walked beside her, carrying grocery bags. He would have blended in with the rest of his blonde haired and blue-eyed brethren if it wasn't for the blemish around his right eye that revealed his ivory skin and turned his sclera a thirium blue.
"Hi, Mrs. Losa," he greeted back. "My day was decent, surprisingly. I hope your day wasn't too stressful."
"Oh, no, not at all. I've been out more than ever. It's lovely. Thanks to you, Oscar." She thanked the android as he opened up their apartment door for her.
"Of course, I've always enjoyed our outings." He smiled back at her.
"Have a nice day, Mr. Reed." Her wrinkled hand waved goodbye as she walked into her apartment, though Oscar stayed in the hallway.
"I plan on making paella tonight. Would you like any?" the android offered.
"I'll pass," Gavin said.
"What about your guest? Would he want any?"
"No, he's got like a shit ton of allergies."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I can always make something he can eat if he ever wants anything."
"I'll tell him you said that." He waited for the android to finally enter the apartment before he went into his own. "Sorry about that," he announced as he took off his shoes and jacket, "My neighbor likes to say 'hi' whenever she can." The only greeting he got was Junkie prancing out of the hallway to rub against his pant leg. "Elijah!" he called out into the quiet apartment.
"I'm fixing my stitches! I'll be out soon." Eli's voice came from the bathroom. He wanted to point out that this was the second time this had happened but kept that comment to himself as a faint humming caught his attention. He followed the sound to the couch, where Eli's hoodie was thrown over the arm. He reached into the pocket and pulled out the vibrating flip phone that went still in his hand. Across the screen were blocky texts telling of four unread voicemails. He wouldn't have snooped through Eli's things in a different situation, but now he had no qualms about opening up the phone and playing the voicemails. He put the phone to his ear.
"Message one out of four. 'Elijah, what are you doing, sweetheart?'" Despite the static coating of the words that seeped through the old phone, he instantly recognized Mother's voice. "'You're hurt, you know that. You need to come back before you make this a real issue. We will be disappointed but not angry. Please call me back.'
"Message two out of four. 'This isn't a game anymore. Where are you?! You've gotten everyone paranoid. You're not doing something stupid, are you? You know better than to cause trouble like this. Let your family help you for once and come home.'
"Message three out of four. 'Stop running, Elijah! You're just gonna get yourself hurt. Again! Haven't you already done enough? We want to help you, but we can't if you keep fucking running. Do you really believe you can just run away from your problems? You're just like… Just get back home.'
"Message four out of four. 'Are you… Are you still disturbed by Gabriel? Is that why you're doing all of this? You know we had no control over what happened, but I do apologize for how it makes you feel. I know he wouldn't want you to hurt yourself like you are now. He'd want you to come home. So please, come home, Elijah.'
"End of messages." Gavin slowly brought the phone down from his ear. He wasn't too surprised by Mother's erratic voice but hearing it again after so many years had his mind wondering where it rarely treaded. Gavin had never tried to think about how Mother would have reacted to his 'death,' never wanted to for fear of the conclusion he would come to. Though if he really wanted a definitive answer, he could easily ask Eli what Mother's reaction was. But he didn't want to ask. He didn't. He shoved the phone back into the hoodie pocket as he heard the bathroom door open and walked casually into the kitchen.
"You hungry?" he asked Junkie as he reached into the cabinet and took out her food. She was already at her food stand, pawing at the metal bowl while Eli was on the couch examining his phone, dressed in a forest green sweatshirt. Gavin kept an eye on him as he filled up Junkie's bowl.
"Hey, Gabe," it was refreshing to hear Eli call him that name.
"Yeah?" Eli looked over his shoulder to face him, not a hint of anger on his face.
"You need to refill your prescriptions." He forwardly stated.
"You went through my shit?"
"You went through my phone."
"… Just the voicemails." Gavin mumbled as he put away the cat food and walked over to his brother on the couch, sitting on the bean bag on the floor.
"And who left them?" Eli asked, moving to sit on the floor as well.
"It was Mother…She wants you to go back to the family and to stop running and to stop being a disappointment and blah blah blah. Just Mom being Mom, ya know."
"Yes, I know very well." Eli set the phone down on the table.
"… Can I ask you something, Eli?"
"I'm all ears."
"How did… What was..."
"What was?"
"… What was your favorite food? There's an android down the hall that'll make it for you."