1. Belongs: The universe and characters of Detroit Become Human belong to Quantic Dreams and David Cage.
2. Rating: "T" in general, but might be "M" for cursed words, graphics contents such as violence, injuries, or sexual scenes.
3. Summary: Gavin nervously awaits the vigilante and his superior arrival at the precinct so they can finally meet. He finds Midnight in civilian clothes that distract the detective even more, but during the interview, Midnight announces that he's ready to reveal his identity. Only to Fowler. Gavin then feels betrayed.
Note: Thanks Bethesda551 for your kind comment! You'll have more, don't worry! I'm glad you like this story!
CHAPTER 10
"You're Not Connor. "
- 03 May 2039, 6:27 PM, DPD. -
Gavin's leg had been twitching nervously for fifteen minutes now, all because time was running out and Fowler still hadn't come back from his board meeting. The outcome of this meeting didn't interest him, he didn't know the reasons for it, but Midnight was going to have this little interview soon, and if the Captain wasn't there, Gavin didn't want to leave the vigilante in full light in the middle of the precinct.
So he remained at his desk, his eyes riveted on his terminal where he had already gathered some information on Cyberlife, the RK projects, and the RK800 in particular. But he was stuck, accessing this information was restricted and he would need a warrant or permission from Cyberlife to learn more. But he had none of them.
Gavin clearly wondered how Midnight had managed to gain access to all the things he had said to him the night before. Illegally, probably.
It was something he had to make sure the vigilante didn't do now that they were going to work together.
His phone vibrated on his desk, which caught his attention. He saw a strange number but read the message anyway.
[313248317-87]
I am nearby your car, Detective. - M
- 18:29
Gavin's heart dropped to the bottom of his body as he read these few words. He knew it was Midnight, and for a moment he almost panicked that he was there. The last time he felt this, was at the academy when his Krav Maga teacher invited him for a drink.
He shook his head quickly before getting up. It wasn't a date, he needed to calm down. It was official, for work. Even though he repeated this over and over as he made his way to the parking lot, he kept being happy to see him again. Although it was a mixture of excitement and panic, actually.
He was too old for this shit.
He stopped when he saw someone leaning against his car. His mouth gaped in amazement as he gazed at him. It was a man in black jeans with military shoes, a black turtleneck top as well, and a leather jacket of the same color over it. A big pair of sunglasses, still black, hid the upper part of his face, concealed under a black hood pulled down over his head.
Gavin resumed his walk, closing his mouth. He stopped within two meters of the person.
"Night…? "
" Yes, it's me." Midnight smiled behind his sunglasses.
"I expected… to see you as a vigilante?" Gavin said at a loss for words. "But here you are in civilian clothes. "
"In casual civilian clothes."
"In suspicious civilian clothes." He corrected before smiling. "Honestly, you…"
This is not a date, this is not a date, this is not a date, this is not a date.
"You could have taken off the glasses, we couldn't tell if you were Midnight or not. It's the point of having a secret identity you know? Playing vigilante at night but living your life normally during the day?" Gavin said instead.
"That's what I normally do, Detective. But you know I'm Midnight, and your Captain expects to meet Midnight. Clothes are meant to not attract others' attention present at the precinct."
"You're really smart. "
"Or is it you who are-"
"Be careful what you say," Gavin replied defensively, pointing his fingers at the vigilante.
Midnight watched the detective's face flush and then his finger. He pulled himself from the car to grab his hand - this time without gloves - and gently push it aside. He smiled slightly before leaning forward slightly to be about the same height as the human.
"I was about to say that maybe you were a little too tired to think logically and rationally, Detective."
"Arrgh…" Gavin groaned, taking a step back, feeling his face heating up. "Whatever, come in..! "
Gavin spun around and walked toward the police station again. Midnight quickly grabbed the backpack at his feet and caught up with the detective with a few strides.
"Have I offended you?" He asked worried that he might have actually hurt the detective in his thinking.
"Nah, don't worry," Gavin said, shaking his head. "I just need coffee to stay awake. "
Gavin walks through the precinct's automatic doors at the same time as Midnight, right next to him. He greeted Vicky quickly at the entrance who responded with a small wave of her hand before gently lowering it as she noticed the young man next to him.
Midnight glanced at the ST300 and raised his index finger to his lips as he continued to follow the detective towards the gantry.
No one has to know. Midnight said in wireless communication, directly linked to the ST300. Can it be kept secret? She nodded gently, the LED blinking yellow. Thank you. He scanned her. Vicky.
She smiled at him and he walked through the gantry with Gavin, then through the glass doors. He hoped the plaster he had on his temple to hide his LED wouldn't attract anyone's attention and arouse no suspicion. It happened that humans hurt themselves, so why not him?
"Captain Fowler still hasn't come back from his meeting so we'll have to wait a bit," Gavin said, grabbing his mug from his desk. "You just have to sit at the desk next to mine. I'm gonna get a coffee. Want something?"
"Thank you, but it will be fine."
"Okay. "
Gavin shrugged and headed for the break room, feeling the inside of his body begin to vibrate with euphoria. Once in the small room, out of sight, he saw Midnight sit at the desk right next to his. Gavin casually approached the table to put his mug on it, then moved away from the frame. He crouched down abruptly, holding his head in his hands, cheeks inflated as a fish, eyes wide and breathless, screaming internally as the excitement was at its climax.
He started to wriggle around to let off steam like a child with too much energy or a nervous breakdown, then froze when he saw Ben Collins walk into the room. He released the stuck air in his cheeks slowly, his eyes wandering briefly.
The older man looked at him and opened his mouth slightly.
"What... the…" Gavin hurried to his feet, suddenly regaining his seriousness. " ...hell are you doing.. ? "
"Nothing, nothing!" He said extremely embarrassed as he tried to avoid his gaze, his hands on his hips and leaning against the doorframe. "Just… a sudden urge to scream." He smiles falsely.
"Huh ..." Ben nodded slowly, the doubt now visible on his face. "This is the guy next to your desk getting you in all this mess, eh?" Gavin turned peony red but didn't answer. Ben started to laugh. "Okay, if I were gay, maybe I would go crazy too."
He shook his head as he walked to the small kitchen for a sugar. He winked at Gavin as he walked away, laughing softly in passing. Gavin bit his lower lip powerfully while keeping his arms crossed over his chest.
It was… embarrassing.
Absolutely. Embarrassing.
Gavin picked up his mug and walked over to the coffee machine to make one. He turned to face the open space and his heart stopped - again - when he saw Tina approaching Midnight.
"S-Shit ..! "
He could only see the vigilante from behind from that angle but he could see Tina talking to him. Damn, why couldn't he read lips? He knew sign language but had never been able to read lips. People talk so fast, it's horrible.
She smiled politely at him before looking around the precinct and his gaze met his. If he could have been in Tina's shoes at this point, he probably would have seen himself with a look of terror on his face.
She frowned and walked past Person's desk to the break room. Gavin turned back to face the coffee machine, watching the beverage flow with fascination.
"Hey! Everything is fine?" She asked, approaching him and rubbing her hand in a friendly way on his back. "There's a super hot guy waiting for you next to your desk."
He looked at her and saw her raise an eyebrow quickly with a smile. He rolled his eyes but ended up smiling as he let out a small laugh, relieving the embarrassment and stress he had felt a few minutes earlier.
"Ben Collins saw me having a nervous breakdown, I feel stupid." He laughs softly.
"Oh is that why he looked like he was laughing on his own at his desk?" She laughed in turn." Let me guess. This super sexy young man comes to you to file a complaint, you offer him something to drink, so you go to the break room to bring him something, and there you panicked. Ben walked in and saw you do the monkey dance all over the place. Am I right?"
Gavin gave her a gentle pinch in the shoulder for the monkey dance but laughed anyway.
" Yes and no. You're wrong about the part where the super sexy young man comes to file a complaint and I go get him something." She frowned then raised one. "I was actually coming to make myself a coffee. And…" He pursed his lips and leaned over to speak lower. "And it's Midnight."
Tina opened her mouth wide in shock as she pulled back, the eyes almost bulging. She turned her head to the super sexy young man, her mouth still gaping, but Gavin grabbed her by the arm to make her face him again.
"Don't say anything. He must stay undercover."
"Wait wait wait, are you going to team up with this ?"
"This?" Gavin frowned, not knowing if that was an insult or not.
"This hypnotic creature from another world!"
Gavin laughed, then took his cup of coffee by the handle.
"Maybe, yes. This is the first time I've seen him in civilian clothes, and he's… pffwah… I really want to take his glasses off right now. I know he has super clear blue eyes too ..! He's…" Gavin lifted his hand to close it on nothing in a fist before bringing it to his mouth to nibble on a knuckle.
"Hahaha, don't eat him, Gavin. But I admit he's really hot, and yet I'm a 100% lesbian ..!"
"You know the law of nature ..!" Gavin said as he left the break room backward. "Eat or be eaten, and I think I'll do both!"
He winked at her then walked back to his desk, missing his best friend rolling her eyes. He put his cup down next to his terminal.
"Sorry for the wait, the coffee machine had some trouble." He lied to avoid being embarrassed again.
"It's alright. Officer Tina Chen came to greet me. Is she a friend of yours?"
"My best friend to be more exact. We've known each other for fourteen years, and we knew each other at the Academy."
Gavin mechanically looked up at Ben, who was looking at him with a smirk from behind his terminal. The motherfucker. Gavin shook his head and sat down in his chair, fire starting to rise in his cheeks.
"I hope she hasn't said anything weird to you. She likes teasing at times."
"I guessed." Midnight said, letting his gaze follow Tina back to her desk, giving the detective some amused looks. "You're lucky to have someone close to you in this way."
"Argh, don't do that again," Gavin said looking at Midnight. Damn, he would give anything to be able to see his face. "I don't wanna have eyes all teary in front of everyone. I don't have sunglasses to hide."
"Reed? "
Gavin looked up when he saw that Fowler had just walked through the glass doors. He stood up when the captain came up to him.
"Sorry for the delay, again that old Administration harpy who can't help but chatter ..!" He breathed in and sighed before turning to the young man next to him. "Excuse my language. That's not how you talk about a colleague, although she's not really one." He looked at Gavin. " Anyway."
"So we can move on to your office?" Gavin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because our collaborator is right here." He said, extending his hand to the vigilante.
"Oh…" Fowler looked at him surprised. "Without the costume, I hadn't guessed. So let's go to my office, the three of us."
Midnight stood up as well and followed the detective and the captain towards the glass room in the middle of the precinct. Midnight didn't feel too comfortable at first, because being in the captain's office attracted attention, so if others could see through…
But the windows turned blurry.
"Take a seat," Fowler said as he moved to his chair. "So you're the famous Midnight?"
" That's right. But don't ask me to reveal my identity or my face to you. I want to preserve myself."
"Even between us? I must know who I'm dealing with and who my detective is going to team up with."
"I can reveal it to you if you wish." Midnight said, looking at Fowler through his sunglasses. "But not in front of Detective Reed."
"What ?" Reed said indignantly, turning his head towards the vigilante. "Why? "
"I have already told you. You would hate me."
"Because your face looks like someone I know and can't stand them. Yes, I remember that, but I also told you that I can make my own judgment on the matter. "
"I would only tell Captain Fowler."
Fowler then looked at Gavin apologetically. Gavin felt anger building up, an ounce of betrayal creeping into him and he stood up. It wasn't fair. He walked out of the office without verbal permission, but Fowler's gaze said it all. He didn't want him in his office because he absolutely needed to know the identity of Midnight, which the vigilante was willing to give him. But to Gavin Reed, no it was absolutely not necessary! Who is he, huh? He's nobody. He has always been a nobody. What did he expect that would change? He clenched his fists painfully to hold back a cry of rage and prevent tears rise from the overflow of emotions.
When the door was closed, Midnight then looked at the captain. He inhaled, lowered his hood, and took off his sunglasses.
Fowler looked at him, slowly opening his mouth in surprise. He recovered quickly, grabbing his tablet to search for a file.
"I know you." He said while searching. "And I know you're not Connor."
"Indeed, I am a-"
"RK900, registration number 131248317-87. You should have taken Connor's place if the revolution hadn't taken this turn. You should have been assigned to Reed."
" That is correct. "
"Do you know he hates Connor?"
"I do, that's why I didn't want him to know my real identity. We get along quite well, we can make a good team as initially planned. Only, if he knows that I'm an android and that I'm Connor's successor, it won't work."
"You seem to know him well already ..." Fowler sighed. "But you're right, and we need you too much to save Detroit."
"I'll do it alongside Detective Reed. During the day dressed like this, and at night with my vigilante outfit."
"And what's your real name?"
Midnight bit his lip and briefly looked away.
"I've never had one… Midnight is the name the public gave me. Between androids, my name is 900 ... But ... Detective Reed calls me Night."
"So go for Night."
Fowler stood up and faced him.
"I had already approved your arrival before this mess. But now that you're deviant, can I still trust you? Can you work with us? With Reed? "
"I would protect this town and the detective with my own life if I have to."
Fowler smiled and stretched his hand out to him. Midnight grabbed it then.
"So, welcome to the team, Night."
