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 and Midnight go to the docks, the place where the vigilante had met Collin a few days earlier, to replay the scene and try to extract more information. The tension is at its height, as Gavin still hasn't processed the fact he had been set apart from knowing Midnight's identity. Gavin, therefore, shares his mistrust and dissatisfaction with the vigilante.
CHAPTER 11
"There's no trust without us. "
- May 03, 2039, 7:18 PM, DPD. -
When Midnight finally emerged from Fowler's desk, Gavin quickly lifted his feet off his desk and pretended to be focused on his screen. He had spent the last fifteen minutes staring at the blurred windows of Fowler's office doing absolutely nothing, wondering what the hell was going on inside. Obviously, he knew what had happened. They had talked about formality and paperwork, and Midnight had probably revealed his face and identity to Fowler.
Midnight hadn't wanted to do it in front of Gavin. And all for stupid reasons that were already driving the detective mad with frustration and anger. It wasn't fair. He too had the right to know who he was working with. He had the right to know! HE-
He saw Midnight returning to his desk, pulling up the chair of the one next to his, and rolled it over to Gavin's side.
He then sat down and turned his head towards the detective.
"Everything is clear between Captain Fowler and me. So we can get down to business, Detective."
"Hm. "
Gavin bit his lip in frustration and shifted his chair a bit to make room for the vigilante so he wasn't in ht middle of the passage.
"You said you had access to my notes on the deviant killer case, how did you get them? "
"The tablets you use to temporarily store information don't have VPNs. They are therefore easily hackable."
"So you're a nerd too? "
"I am comfortable with computers and technology. "
"Ok, so you're a mix of Nightwing and Mr. Robot." Gavin sighed. "You told me the killer was an RK800, number 60 which goes by the name of Collin." The vigilante nodded. "Do you have any proof? "
"I have no proof of him personally." Midnight said. "But the murders came to light soon after meeting him."
Gavin frowned and crossed his arms over his chest while facing the vigilante.
"You didn't tell me you met him. When? And where? "
"It was April 23 at 3:34 a.m. at the old docks in Detroit. He was the one who shot me."
Gavin raised his eyebrows, surprised by Midnight's precision but especially by the latest information. Things were slowly coming together and falling into place in his head. April 23 was his day off, and he had been assaulted in the alley the day before. So ... it happened after the vigilante left his home the same night. After taking care of him.
But something didn't seem logical.
"Why did the RK800 shoot you? As far as I know, he has only taken androids so far, and then all of his victims have been shot in the head. Technically, if you're still alive, it's because he wanted you to stay that way. And certainly also because you are …"
Gavin paused, gazing at Midnight in front of him for a long time. His heart pounded painfully at the question he had just raised. What was prooving him that Midnight was indeed human? Absolutely nothing. He assumed he was and it ended there. But if.. ? What if..?
Gavin let his gaze slide over the vigilante's face. He left his glasses hiding his eyes which he knew were ice blue, then his straight nose, his high and sharp cheekbones, then his marked jaw, his thin and slightly pink lips, that slight dimple on his chin, and those moles here and there on his face.
"You are staring at me, Detective. "
"Why didn't the RK800 kill you? "
" I do not know." Midnight said sincerely. "He could have killed me with a bullet in the head, but I was only shot in the shoulder." He pouted in thought. "Maybe he's not interested in me? That he just wanted to get me out of the way? "
"I'm not going to believe such bullshit," Gavin said keeping his arms crossed over his chest. "Did you cross his way by chance?"
Midnight frowned behind his glasses. It was true that this was no accident. He had received a distress signal over there that evening. He had known it was from an android but his identity had been blurred. When he got there, he found no one at first, and eventually, the RK800 came out of hiding to catch him by surprise.
Why laying a trap for him but not shooting him down? Midnight didn't really understand. He was an android, he was deviant, and he was the RK800's successor, which meant he was a direct threat to him. But Collin hadn't shot him in the head despite being a machine and still having his primary mission of destroying activated deviants.
Making him come to the docks to show up for the first time in front of the RK900 and not killing him to ward off the threat made absolutely no sense.
"I had received a distress signal that evening from an android that I could not identify. When I got there, there was no one to be found, I thought it was a mistake. But he finally came out of the shadows and tried to shoot me. I managed to shock him with my taser gloves, and he fell into the Detroit River after being momentarily neutralized." Midnight paused. "Since that night, I haven't seen him again. It's the only time I've actually seen him. And I am convinced that deviant victims are his victims. This is ... exactly how an RK800 machine would proceed. Fast and efficient, flawless."
Gavin narrowed his eyes. Technically, Midnight had no real evidence against the RK800, and he was the only one to say that Collin did still exist. A part deep inside him believed the vigilante, but another part made him doubt. Ever since he was questioning Midnight's nature, his brain seemed to be questioning everything and screwing it up in his head. Gavin had trust issues because of his BPD, it was no secret, but trusting Midnight had been eerily easy until now. Maybe he was too easily blinded by his… his what? His feelings? He almost winced at the thought. The fact that the vigilante refused to reveal his identity to him earlier, something had shattered inside him and ignited at the same time. He was certainly hiding something more serious, right?
Gavin took a deep breath to calm his tumultuous thoughts and rose from his chair. He hated his brain.
"Okay. We're gonna go somewhere to eat and then we will go to those docks where you met him. Is that fine for you? "
"You are the detective, Detective. "
"Yeah yeah ..." Gavin said, brushing the air with one hand. "Come on before the hunger pisses me off even more."
Midnight got up from the chair, which he returned to its original place, and grabbed his backpack before following the detective out of the station. In the parking lot, he caught up with him with long strides. The detective was walking strangely fast as if trying to lose him.
"Is something wrong Detective?"
"Rrrhhaa ..." Gavin sighed loudly. "I have a first name you know? "
"I thought we agreed on this?"
"Oh because you're going to call Captain Jeffrey now that you've exchanged your business cards?"
Gavin got into his car and Midnight followed suit on the other side. He started and backed up once the vigilante had closed the door.
"So is that what puts you in a bad mood? Because Captain Fowler knows my real identity now, but you don't? "
"Yeah, completely," Gavin said, looking into the vigilante's gaze. "I feel completely put aside and feel like I don't matter to anyone. Trust is important you know that? Fowler trusts you now because he knows who you are. You trust me because you know who I am." He turned his head towards him again, stopped in front of a traffic light. "I don't know who you are. I can't trust you completely. I mostly feel like I'm on the sidelines, and I feel like I'm the one who doesn't understand what's going on. And if there's something that I hate, that you absolutely need to know Night, it's that I hate being taken for an idiot. So, protect me by not revealing your identity, go ahead, but don't expect me to trust you. Because all you're gonna gain is a partnership already fucked up."
Gavin started up again when the light turned green. Midnight looked down but didn't answer. So much the better, Gavin had nothing more to say. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and hurting him excruciatingly after saying all that, but it was the truth and the reality of the situation. He couldn't totally trust Midnight if he didn't know who he was. If so, it was Midnight the perpetrator. Who knows? He knew a lot of things, maybe it wasn't by guessing or hacking his tablet. Did the RK800 really exist? Had he really been injured in the shoulder from a bullet? It doesn't take three days to recover from a gunshot wound, even a scrape. Gavin had been shot in the side before, and it had taken a month before he could sit up without wincing.
Gavin drove by a Burger King on the way and turned to Midnight, asking him what he wanted to eat.
"I have a special diet, remember? "
"You're gonna make me believe that you did eat before 6 pm?" Midnight didn't answer. "Not even drink something?"
"It… It's not necessary. "
"Why do I have a firm belief that this story is already doomed to fail."
He shook his head, took his order, and waited about ten minutes before he could pick it up and head back to the docks. He'll eat when they'll be there. The sooner this little nocturnal expedition would be over, the sooner he could get away from the vigilante who only caused him stress, doubt, and discomfort.
Gavin followed Midnight's directions to the docks and parked his car near an old warehouse. He shut off the engine and the headlights and grabbed his meal to start eating.
"It's really awkward to eat in front of you when you're not eating anything."
"Don't worry about me, Detective. "
"Can you at least try calling me Gavin, damn it? Is that too much to ask?"
Midnight pursed his lips. He looked down behind his sunglasses. He looked really ridiculous wearing them as it got dark.
"I can call you Gavin, yes."
"Awesome. Please make at least that little effort."
It was said in a tone of irony and sarcasm, of course. Gavin was already fed up and wanted to go home. He hurried to eat.
"You should eat more slowly to better assimilate nutrients and promote satia -"
"What are you a dietician now? "
" No. I just wanted to help you. "
"If you want to help me, shut up first." He took a bite. "Ah uh no, by teyin me who you are, dat woud be shuper ugeful!"
He glanced askance at the vigilante and saw the vigilante turn away his head, biting his lips. If he wanted to be saltier, Gavin could be even saltier. If Midnight didn't cooperate then he was going to taste.
"Let's take care of the docks first." Midnight finally said, looking out the windshield. "Then I would take you somewhere."
"To kill me with a bullet in the head? Thanks but no thanks. "
Midnight turned his head to look at him, certainly intensely but his fucking glasses hid his eyes. Hell, he couldn't even read the expression or the emotions the vigilante might be feeling. It was almost easier with the domino mask than the sunglasses. Then he looked stupid as it started to get dark. How could he trust him, hm?
"No. I am not the killer as you seem to believe." Midnight breathed in annoyance. "I want to show you something else then, that's all. "
Gavin snorted. Yeah, well, he's waiting to see it hold. Showing him the nice barrel of his gun. Gavin frowned. Midnight had never actually carried a gun. And he would have biped at the gantry if it had been the case.
Damn, his brain had decided to give him a freak tonight.
"Okay, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions about you too hastily," Gavin admitted, eating the last bite of his burger. "But you're really not making it easy for me. I've been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder since I was 21, and when there's a shadow of danger hovering over my head, my brain crashes. That's easy to admit because I'm relatively sane now, but don't expect me to think like that when I'm in the middle of a crisis, okay? "
"And you still managed to integrate the police with a BPD?"
"My crisis rarely happen when I work because I operate with evidence and not just guesses. It's a combination of the two. Rather, my crises happen on a personal level. That's why I have a hard time having friends, having stable relationships - when I can have, of course - or having a teammate. I expect to be judged all the time, and I always misinterpret the actions or words of others. It all turns against me from my point of view even though it doesn't. Except as my brain manages to convince me and I end up breaking the relationships I have with people, whatever their nature."
Midnight didn't answer. He wanted to tell him the truth, to give him his identity, but he knew Gavin wouldn't appreciate finding out. He would only see the same face as Connor, he would only see an android in front of him, he would see an individual similar to an RK800, and Midnight had told him that the RK800 was the murderer. Gavin suspected him already, even if all his reasoning was unfounded, revealing his identity to him would only reinforce his theory.
"I will make our partnership work." Midnight said, turning his head towards the detective again. "I ... I would tell you everything, but not right now… Everything is too… recent for you to be able to react well."
"Why don't you want to leave that decision to me?"
"Because…" Midnight breathed in again, his tear ducts working despite himself. "Because you are the only person that matters to me here, Gavin. And it's absolutely selfish to say that, but I don't want to lose you. I'm… afraid of your judgment, too. And I know there will be one no matter what, good or bad timing, it will always be negative. I'm… just not ready to feel… this."
Gavin pursed his lips. Obviously, he fully understood what Midnight was feeling. He was himself in the front row whenever he interacted with someone and things didn't go the way he had expected. Once Tina hadn't replied to one of his messages for a day, and Gavin had imagined that he had done something wrong, that she hated him, that she never wanted to see him again and that she was going to forget him. But that day, Tina had just forgotten her phone in her locker at the police station. The fear of abandonment, Gavin knew it. He couldn't blame the vigilante for thinking the same.
"Okay, sorry ..." Gavin said, looking at him sincerely. "I urged you to bring this up again when it's a sensitive subject for you, and I know, personally, that it's… hard to live with the fear of being alone…" He bit his lip. What the hell did he really just confess out loud? His shrink would be proud of him. "So let's move on. Let's go see the docks and then we'll go where you want to take me, okay? "
Midnight nodded, pursing his lips. Gavin then got out of the car, imitated by the vigilante. The latter walked around the car to approach him and show him the way. Ten days had passed since the meeting here between Midnight and Collin, but it was important for Gavin to see where and how things had turned out.
Midnight indicated the places where they had both stood, taking turns mimicking their actions. After a few minutes of demonstration, they both found themselves at the edge of the docks, hands on their hips staring at the water in the river already blackened by the hour.
"I believe you when you explain all this to me Night, I just wish I had concrete evidence. "
"I understand ... But he's been meticulous, and it's mostly been ten days since. "
Midnight could give him proof. He could show him his audio and video recordings of this interview since he was still recording everything, being an android.
But giving him that evidence would also prove that he wasn't human. And he felt, deep inside, that neither Gavin nor himself was ready for this revelation.
Not yet.
