As summer began to really roll in with an intense heat the precinct became all the more hectic and tense. Every available detective was feeling overworked and overwhelmed as the summer heat grew hotter and hotter. The "new guy", Donovan Saxon, wasn't exactly making friends and seemed to be intentionally pushing people away every second he had. Whether that was due to Saxon suffering from stress, arrogance or just having a difficult personality no one could say for certain. Thanks to Saxon being less than helpful at times Tina often fell back on Connor to help her keep up with her caseload since Gavin was still out of action, and she'd rely on Ben or Chris whenever Connor was out in the field with Hank handling their own cases.
With the air conditioner kicked up to its highest power and small fans whirring at every desk in the bullpen the detectives looked as hot and miserable as the world outside the precinct. July was coming to an end but August was soon to begin, and summer itself wasn't quite ready to call it quits and give away to fall.
"Fuckin' hell..." Swearing as he unbuttoned his black and white striped dress shirt to try to cool off a little more Hank leaned back in his chair as he redirected the small fan on the corner of his desk to point directly at himself. The numerous and constantly moving bodies in the bullpen was making it almost impossible for the added fans to actually keep the cool air circulating properly. "I haven't experienced this kind of heat since I was a rookie."
"I also find this extreme heat to be very uncomfortable." Connor contemplated turning on his enhanced cooling feature courtesy of his latest update, but he didn't want to risk his system being thermally overwhelmed for a second time. Noticing that Hank was sweating a little despite the fan blowing directly at him, and the air conditioner working nonstop Connor decided he'd get Hank some water to prevent possible dehydration. "You should switch from coffee to water."
"Might as well." Picking up his empty coffee mug Hank turned it over dramatically to show that his morning coffee was all gone. "And I don't want to be the one the turn on that hot coffee maker during this bullshit heatwave."
"I'll get you a bottle of water from the breakroom."
"Put one of your Thirium things in the fridge, too."
"Huh?"
"You're just as hot as any one of us here. Being a deviant doesn't make immune to the heat." Noticing that Connor's blue L.E.D. was intermittently flash to yellow gave way that Connor was physically uncomfortable. "Don't deny it."
"...Right. I'll place a Thirium pouch in the refrigerator to cool down."
"Good."
Heading into the breakroom Connor promptly retrieved one of the many chilled bottles of water from the precinct's refrigerator for Hank, and then placed one of the free to drink Thirium pouches into the refrigerator to ensure it cooled down. As he walked back to his desk Connor loosened the knot of his black tie and removed his gray blazer to drape over the back of his chair to cool off a little.
"Taking off that damn tie at long last?" Hank watched as Connor neatly folded the garment and placed it in his blazer's pocket. "Good! Now get rid of the vest so you look more like a person and less like a damn clothing model."
"I'm merely wearing a work appropriate uniform."
"It's a little too much, kid. In case you haven't noticed everyone else dresses in a more relaxed manner for the sake of simplicity, AND to make it less tragic if our clothes get ruined during a chase."
"That's why I make sure I don't fall or let my clothes get snagged on anything while I run after suspects."
"Ha! I've seen your pristine clothing get stained with mud, blood and Thirium before."
"I didn't say I was above needing a laundry night."
"Smartass." Accepting the bottle of water from the deviant Hank approved of the snarky remark proudly. Unscrewing the lid from the bottle Hank motioned to Connor's terminal screen in a casual manner. "Did ya' get a look at our newest case yet?"
"No." Sitting down behind his terminal screen Connor pressed his left palm against the screen and downloaded the information. The details regarding the case made Connor's heart race as his blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow and then red with worry. "...A person reported being assaulted with a knife?"
"It wasn't one of... you know." Hank quickly caught on that Connor was righteously scared, and calmed him back down. "This is some poor bastard who got stabbed when he got off the train last night. Turns out he's not the first to get stabbed at the station. Him and a few other people, some of them deviants, have been getting randomly shanked over the past few nights but some psycho."
"Oh..." Checking over the further details on the reported case Connor was somewhat relieved to know that the knife attacks had been happening over the past four days by an unknown assailant with an impressively sharp four inch knife, and none matched the description of the branded hunters. "...No suspects." Feeling his heart slowing back down Connor's L.E.D. returned to blue at last. "No fingerprints, blood or hairs at the scene that belonged to anyone but the victims."
"Yeah. Six humans and seven deviants. The deviants who were stabbed ended up looking pretty rough." Sending over the documented photos of the deviant wounds courtesy of the knife Hank grimaced sympathetically at the gruesome sight. "We have no idea what kind of knife could do that kind of damage to a plastimetal, but we'll figure it out soon."
The stabbed deviants had their plastimetal frames physically warped to a seemingly permanent degree. The deep and wide cuts were painful, devastating and in need of immediate technical assistance in comparison to the usual bumps and bruises that deviants could sustain. It looked as if the knife had carved through the plastimetal like an axe through a tree trunk.
"There is no security camera feed." Noting the disturbing lack of video evidence at his disposal Connor realized their case was going to be far more difficult to solve than he initially anticipated. "No witnesses, either."
"Nope. It's like the attacker knew exactly when and where to strike. Why these people were selected, you know, if there IS a connection among them, is still unknown at this time."
"It seems the Eastern Precinct has been handling a majority of the reported assault cases due to deviants being involved." Connor noted as he checked over the additional case details with Lucas and Noreen's signature attached. "Why has it come our way?"
"The freak who's doing this weird shit is striking all over the city and not just in one area. We're the only two precincts in the city who handle deviant cases and since deviants are involved we're being assigned to work on it."
"Makes sense."
"What do you want to do?"
"Me?"
"Yeah. You take the lead on this case this time."
Nodding a little Connor preconstructed their best course of action and made a decision. "We should check out the scene of the latest attack and then interview the deviant witnesses. Since deviants have a flawless memory we're more likely to make progress by speaking to a deviant rather than a human."
"Sounds good to me." Drinking a majority of the water in the bottle Hank rose from his chair and motioned for Connor to do the same. "Hopefully there will be some nice shady spots to park during our investigation."
Enduring the heat to the best of his ability back at his apartment Gavin had closed all the curtains and blinds in the apartment, cranked up the air conditioning, ordered a few additional fans to be delivered and talked Aaron into indulging in a massive quart of rocky road ice cream. Doing his best to not snap at Aaron despite his lingering pain, frustration and now the heat, Gavin focused his restless energy on making sure Lucky was comfortable as she was clearly not enjoying the heat anymore than the humans were. Placing down some ice cubes into Lucky's water bowl and then giving her a small amount of pure vanilla ice cream, despite knowing that wasn't the healthiest thing to give a cat, Gavin laid over the couch and stared bitterly at the ceiling overhead.
Aaron had a busy night dealing with rescues regarding people suffering from the heat or going berserk and getting violent, and was dead on his feet. Making his way over to Gavin's apartment earlier that morning before Lucas left for work Aaron had been napping on and off in the recliner in the livingroom without wearing his shirt, in a way that Gavin was certain that he was being teased.
Getting up from the couch Gavin walked over to where Lucky was laying on her side in front of a fan and knelt down so he could lightly rub her ear in a gentle manner. "I bet you're miserable right now. I can't imagine being covered in fur and pregnant in a heatwave."
Lightly placing his palm over the side of Lucky's rounded belly Gavin smirked a little knowing that in about one week he'd have to deal with four little kittens on top of his full grown cat. As much as he wanted to be annoyed by the burden of dealing with unexpected kittens Gavin couldn't actually be mad. It wasn't Lucky's fault she was just following her instincts, and it certainly wasn't the kittens' faults for being conceived, either.
"Let's just hope we can take some candid shots of your kittens and let their cute charms win over the hearts of a few trusted people so they get adopted."
From the recliner Aaron heard Gavin talking and woke up with a sleepy yawn. "...You talking to Lucky?"
"Kinda' hard to talk to you when you're snoring."
"I don't snore."
"Sure ya' do."
"No way. If I snored the guys at the station would've given me shit for it a long time ago." Sitting forward in the recliner Aaron was relieved to see Gavin moving around, talking, and even joking a little as he recovered from his horrific car accident three weeks prior. "How's she doing?"
"She's hot and tired."
"Well, I imagine anyone carrying quadruplets is going to be tired all day long."
"I wouldn't know anything about that." Standing upright Gavin trudged back to the couch and let out a deep sigh as he rubbed his right palm over his remaining left arm bitterly. The empty left t-shirt sleeve flapped about comically under Gavin's touch. "...Shit it's hot."
"Take off your shirt. You'll feel better."
"No."
"Why?"
"...You know why."
"Gav' I've seen you topless before!"
Unable to keep the grin off his face Gavin let out a small sigh and shook his head. "...It's ugly."
"What's ugly?" Looking at the left arm being cupped by Gavin's right palm Aaron pointed at the limb while flashing Gavin an incredulous look. "Your arm?"
"More like my missing arm..."
"Do you really think you losing your arm makes you any less attractive?"
"Hard to deny that the scar and lack of an entire limb is distracting in the worst way possible."
"You're wrong. You're still a gorgeous man, Gavin. Inside and out."
Scoffing as he blushed a little Gavin tried to dismiss the comment as nothing more than polite interjection. "Right... I'm such a damn catch."
"You are. Stop tearing yourself down."
"Ah, come on! Look me!" Motioning to his missing arm and empty t-shirt sleeve with his right hand Gavin tried to demonstrate his point visually. "I'm a freak!"
"I am looking at you." Aaron confirmed as he joined Gavin on the couch and put his right palm to the left side of Gavin's face to make the self conscious detective look him in the eyes. "And do you know what I see?"
"A crippled, useless detective."
"No." Giving Gavin a kiss right on the lips to shut him up for a moment Aaron refused to let his beloved continue to beat himself down. "I see the man I love more than anything in this entire world."
Wanting to make another comment about being useless or disfigured Gavin opened his mouth again to speak, but Aaron pressed his left hand over Gavin's mouth and effectively 'shushed' him.
"There's nothing you can say to ever change my mind or change my heart."
Trying again to speak around Aaron's hand Gavin was effectively silenced and had no choice but to listen to Aaron speaking.
"Nothing will change how much I love you." Moving his right hand from Gavin's cheek and toward his left arm Aaron lightly wrapped his palm around what was left of the limb in a gentle and comforting manner. Doing his best to not hurt Gavin or make him run off Aaron moved his hand through the empty sleeve and touched Gavin's healing arm without any fear or hesitation in his touch. "Besides, not only do you have beautiful eyes, I was less attracted to your strong arms and more drawn to your well toned ass."
Laughing at long last Gavin felt like he was truly loved and he let a few tears of relief fall from his hazel eyes as Aaron lowered his hand from over top of Gavin's lips. "...Well, as long as I don't get my ass chopped off I guess I'll be just fine."
Letting out his own laugh Aaron pulled Gavin in closer to his chest without a second thought to the blistering heat, gave him a comforting hug, and just held him tight. Feeling the heat radiating from Gavin's body and the pain leaving his body through his hot tears Aaron knew that while they weren't going to be back to normal anytime soon, they were at least out of the woods.
"...You know." Gavin whispered in Aaron's ear as he slowed his breathing and calmed back down. "...We'll have the whole apartment to ourselves until six twenty-seven this evening."
"Wait... What? That's an oddly specific time."
"Lucas always shows up at the apartment at the same exact time after every shift he works. Trust me, it's as annoying as it is consistent."
Laughing again Aaron knew that Gavin was suggesting they do something special together but he was a little reluctant to hazard a guess. "Well, if we have the whole day and apartment to ourselves we could have some fun, right?"
"Damn right." Giving Aaron a kiss on his lips Gavin pulled on Aaron's left hand as he rose from the couch and began leading him toward his bedroom down the hallway. "...I'm sure we can find something to do. You know, in the bedroom."
"You always have the best ideas, Gav'." Happily following after Gavin as he was led to the bedroom Aaron beamed proudly at the recovery that his boyfriend was making in the aftermath of personal tragedy. "Never change!"
"Sure, whatever. Drop your pants and meet me in bed."
Happily closing the bedroom door behind him with his foot Aaron loosened the belt holding up his jeans with a smile. "Yes, sir!"
Studying the scene of the latest attack at the New Haven train station with a keen eye, Connor was able to preconstruct the events of the previous night's attack and determined that it was a single person who attacked the victim from behind. The knife wounds were in the man's abdomen but the angle and the depth of the wounds indicated that the knife was angled around toward the victim's front from an arm reaching toward him from behind. The amount of blood at the scene matched the severity of the wounds, and the lack of footprints in the now dried blood showed that the killer took the correct precautions to avoid the blood to prevent themself from leaving a trail or identifiable shoe impression.
Unable to locate any evidence or details that hadn't already been registered by the responding officer, or by Lucas and Noreen from the Eastern Precinct, Connor decided it was time to walk away from the station and interview the recovering deviant at the Alpha Facility three blocks away. Returning to the car where Hank was sitting in the air conditioning Connor dismissed the warning regarding his rising core temperature, and opened the passenger door to sit down in the cool air.
Wincing when Connor opened the door and briefly let in the intense heat Hank looked at the returned deviant and fastened his seatbelt. "Find anything useful up there, kid?"
Slamming the door shut beside him Connor quickly took advantage of the cooler air and took in a deep breath to cool off his core. "I was unable to locate any new evidence."
Picking up on the curious lilt to Connor's words Hank knew that the deviant did find something interesting during his search, but wasn't too sure about what he had discovered. "But you did find something worth looking into, didn't ya'?"
"Perhaps."
"Lay it on me."
"Based on the angle of the attack I have determined that the assailant is right handed and stands at a height of five foot eleven inches."
"I get how you figured out which hand they used, but how'd you get the height?"
"Knowing the victim's height and the angle of the weapon gave me the height of the suspect." Adjusting the car's vent to ensure the cool air blew right in his face Connor explained his findings to Hank in a calm and logical manner. "I can also confirm that the suspect walks up on people from behind and stabs them, which is why none of the human victims recall seeing their assailant approaching them and why there were no shoe prints from the suspect in the victim's blood upon the suspect fleeing from the scene of the attack."
"Good work, son." Shifting the car from park and into drive Hank made his way toward the Alpha Facility three blocks from their current location. "It's not much but it can help narrow down a suspect pool."
"I find it curious that every attack has taken place in a location where the city's surveillance cameras have been disabled. It's not a coincidence."
"That's what I was thinking. The question is: Is our suspect disabling the cameras before the attacks, or did they already know where the cameras were out and wait for an opportunity to attack?"
"...Unknown. There are too many variables when it comes to potential causes of camera outages throughout the city."
"And trying to track down fifteen separate reasons for camera outages would be a huge pain in the ass. Could be operator error, could be electrical activity thanks to this bullshit heat, hell, could even be a damn squirrel chewing on a wire for all we know."
"That is true." Watching as the facility came into view Connor decided that if he could prove that the cameras were being disabled by different methods as opposed to a singular method, and that the length of the outages wasn't consistent, then he'd be able to rule out sabotage and prove that they were looking for someone with prior knowledge of the outages before the attacks. "...After we speak to the witness I will begin a cybernetic analysis of the affected camera footage that has been provided. It'll narrow down the cause of the outages and our suspect pool."
"Right. You can do that during our lunchbreak." Checking the temperature outside through his phone's weather update Hank sighed and ran his left hand through his shaggy gray hair. It was a whopping one-hundred and two degrees outside and it wasn't even noon. "It's cooler sitting in this car than it is inside the bullpen right now..."
Too hot to lay in bed all afternoon Gavin and Aaron showered off after their romantic interlude, and promptly returned to the livingroom to watch some mind numbing television and just sit together. Finally taking Aaron's advice and removing his t-shirt to stay cool during the heatwave Gavin seemed to be slowly growing more comfortable with his amputated left arm being visible to other people. As the couple just sat together on the couch while mindlessly watch the weather report Gavin noticed that Lucky was checking out the laundry basket that had been set up for her in the corner by Lucas, and hoped she'd use the basket as her nest when she delivers.
The way Lucky was getting restless made Gavin a little nervous that she was going to go into labor sooner rather than later, but he was trying to not worry too much about it. There was no controlling nature, and when it happens it happens.
"Go on." Encouraging Lucky to climb into the basket Gavin leaned forward a little where he sat and watched as Lucky curiously peeked inside the opening created by the towel draped over top of the basket. "That's for you. Hop in!"
Lucky seemed hesitant to do so and sat back down on the floor beside the basket. Washing her front paw and using it to clean her ear Lucky purred quite loudly as she fell into a better mood after having a nap and some ice cream.
"Go inside of it." Kneeling down in front of the couch Gavin awkwardly looked under the coffee table and then swore out loud. "Damn."
"What're you looking for?" Unsure of what Gavin was up to Aaron just sat on the couch and watched his boyfriend with an inquisitive gaze.
"Cat toy. I'm going to toss one in there so she knows that the basket is for her to use."
"Where are her toys?"
"Everywhere!" Turning a little Gavin reached under the couch in search of a toy mouse to entice Lucky into the basket. "Damn cat knocks them all under-" As his fingertips brushed over the hard and cool metal surface of a case Gavin's attention was pulled from the cat and toward the mysterious parcel hidden under the furniture. "What the hell is this?"
"Now what's up?"
"Lift up your feet." Locating a handle on the curious object Gavin dragged it out from under the couch and hefted the odd metal case up and onto the coffee table to be examined. "This better not be a gun or some shit. I'd hate to think my roommate is stashing guns all over the apartment."
Aaron immediately knew what was stored inside the case just by giving it a simple once over. Lucas had confided in him shortly after bringing the bionic limb back to the apartment and explained that he wanted to tell Gavin about the prosthesis after Gavin had more time to heal. Worried that Gavin might have a sour reaction to the offered bionic limb, especially since it was designed by his estranged brother, Aaron lightly put his palm over the case to keep Gavin from opening it to look inside.
"What're you doing?"
"...Don't open it. Not yet."
As a detective every one of Gavin's instincts was telling him that there was something very important inside the case. "Why not? What's in here?"
"This is something meant for you, but Lucas wants to be the one to hand it over."
"...Is this some kind of fucked up 'get well soon' gift?"
"Not exactly."
"Fuckin- Is this a replacement arm?"
"It's a prosthetic, not replacement."
"Shit... Fuckin' piece of plastic just couldn't wait to attach a fake limb to my body so he could laugh at me!"
"That is in no way true! He wants to help you!"
"Didn't even ask me if I wanted a damn fake arm! He just went and bought one!"
"He may not have asked, but he went ahead and found one anyway to help you. Besides, would you have said 'yes' even if he did ask?"
With no way to answer that without lying or making himself look like a jerk Gavin tried to deflect the question. "...That's not the point."
"It is. Gavin, I love you but you're too damn proud for your own good. There's nothing wrong with accepting help or asking for it."
"I don't need-"
"Gavin." Grabbing onto Gavin's right hand with both of his hands Aaron looked Gavin right in the eyes as he spoke to him a stern tone. "You do. Right now you're still healing physically and only just beginning to accept what's happened to you both mentally and emotionally. You need help, not because you're weak or helpless or any other bullshit lie your father tried to tell you. You need help because you're hurt and you have friends you want to help you get better."
Unable to look away Gavin dared to ask the one question burning on his lips. "...Why do you think I need a new arm?"
"Stop. Don't make this about me or Lucas or anyone else, this is about you. We want to see you get better and if that involves you getting a prosthesis then so be it, but if you don't want one then that's fine, too. It's your decision either way. It's just that having two functioning arms will let you continue your career as a detective."
Staring at the metal box sitting on the coffee table Gavin fell back into the couch cushions again and let out a huff of heated breath. "...Whatever. I don't need it. I don't need anything."
"Then..." Picking up the case by its handle Aaron tucked it back under the couch out of sight, then proceeded to help Gavin locate one of Lucky's rogue toys hidden throughout the apartment. "We'll put that back right where it was found and we'll find a mouse for Lucky to play with."
"Yeah, whatever."
As he stood upright from the couch and resumed the search for the elusive toy Gavin glanced at the unseen case under the couch with a strange curiosity burning in his eyes, but didn't say a word about it. The idea of having a false arm in place of his missing organic arm somehow felt more disturbing than leaving his arm entirely incomplete.
It didn't take long to interview the deviant witness as he was very eager to help the police find the person who was attacking innocent citizens with a unknown type of knife. The victim's statement wasn't as useful as the detectives' had hoped, but being able to talk to a victim instead of waiting for an autopsy or an apportionment report to come their way was a very huge perk to their investigation. Leaving the facility with very little new information, but a new sense of direction as the latest deviant victim confirmed that he was attacked from behind, Hank insisted on hiding out in a shady spot at the park while he ate his lunch and Connor contemplated the attack pattern from their enigmatic suspect.
Sipping at his frozen lemonade as he chose to eat a club sandwich in favor of a hot burger Hank stared through the windshield and watched the cars rushing down the Ambassador Bridge in the distance. Beside him Connor was deep in thought and seemed to be struggling to concentrate on his self imposed task. Knowing that Connor was too distracted to notice his temporary absence Hank stepped out of the car to throw away his empty sandwich wrapper, and to check out the nearby Thirium stand to find something cool for Connor to have during their lunchbreak.
Having his cybernetic investigation constantly interrupted by red warnings regarding his steadily increasing core temperature Connor was growing impatient with himself, and the rapidly pulsing yellow L.E.D. in his right temple made it quite evident. Unwilling to give up on his investigation so quickly Connor used his right hand to unbutton his gray vest before shrugging it off in hope that the removed layer would appease his thermal regulator's constant warnings.
Hank returned to the car with two styrofoam cups in his hands and promptly handed the cup with a blue tinted substance over to Connor to take for himself. Nudging the cup against Connor's left shoulder Hank was able to get Connor's attention via a sideways and confused glance.
"...What's that?"
"It's supposed to be Thirium-based frozen lemonade."
"Lemonade?" Accepting the cool feeling cup Connor looked down at the blue tinted contents and ran a quick scan over the entire cup. "...Pure Thirium with natural and fully biocomponent safe flavor added into it."
"Yeah, the guy who made it said he couldn't remove the blue coloring without completely destroying the Thirium in the process. According to his customers the flavor is just like a fresh pitcher of perfectly sweetened lemonade."
"...Thank you."
"Go ahead." Taking a sip of his own topped off cup of frozen lemonade Hank watched as Connor stared at the red straw sticking out of the cup with an almost dubious eye. "Try it."
"...Okay." Sampling the frozen lemonade Connor was surprised by the sweet and sour flavor, and was relieved to have the nice cool Thirium entering his overheating core. Staring at the cup again Connor nodded and approved of the treat. "I like this."
"Figured ya' would. Sometimes the best way to battle the heat is with a nice pitcher of ice cold lemonade. Something about citrus is absolutely refreshing."
"Thank you."
"How's your cybernetic investigation goin'?"
"Thus far I can confirm the theory that our suspect is not causing the surveillance camera outages, but is simply taking advantage of it."
"Creepy." Stirring his drink with his straw Hank resumed his watch over the bridge in the distance. "How could he know that the cameras are out like that? Are we lookin' at a city electrician or security guard?"
"It's possible. However, due to the severity of the stab wounds and the strength behind each attack I'm beginning to suspect we're looking for a deranged deviant rather than a human."
"Shit. How do we handle this?"
"Like we would with any other suspect."
"Sounds simple enough. Since the deviant victim you interviewed didn't see the person who attacked him, and none of the human victims saw anyone, do you want to speak to the other deviant victims or just use the statements that Lucas and Noreen collected earlier?"
The idea of speaking to the other deviants who had been stabbed and butchered was enough to make Connor's stomach roll. He had never seen a deviant with their plastimetal frame so torn open and mangled before. Even the bodies that had been recovered from the android junkyard - the pauper's grave for countless androids and deviants, weren't cut open in the same gruesome way these particular victims had been.
"Kid?" Noticing that Connor had quickly gone quiet and that his soulful brown eyes had glazed over Hank tried to figure out what the deviant detective was thinking about in that very moment. Recognizing the very obvious sense of worry in the deviant's expression Hank placed his right palm on Connor's left shoulder lightly to get his attention. "You thinking about those victims being knifed up?"
"...Yes."
"It's rough seeing victims as they're recovering. Sometimes it's those who live compared to those who died that are the worse ones to look at." Putting his cup in the cup holder to his right Hank shifted the car from park and into reverse to head back to the precinct for a while. "Try not to worry about them."
"...It's hard not to." Suddenly unable to stomach his own drink Connor put it aside in the second cup holder and neatly folded up his blazer to put in the backseat for the rest of the day. "Knives are merciless against an exposed body."
"Hey, don't you dare think you're anything like that psycho stabbing innocent people. You were protecting innocent people, not harming them."
"I still hurt people."
"Kid, they violated eight other innocent deviants, physically assaulted them and spit on them. You just delivered justice that the courts wouldn't hand down."
"What right did I have to-"
"Connor. Don't." Turning toward the precinct at a steady pace Hank refused to let Connor try to guilt himself for protecting those who needed protection. "I know you're new to emotional responses and reactions, and I know you feel like you somehow fucked up because you indulged in your anger and sense of revenge, but it was NOT wrong. You didn't choose three random assholes to stalk and kill, you found the very criminals who hurt those deviants and you just scared the piss of them. Literally."
"...It's still upsetting to think about." Flexing his hands atop his lap Connor resisted the urge to grab his coin from his blazer's pocket as he rode passenger to the precinct's parking garage. "I really am capable of committing such violence and do so consciously. It frightens me."
"And the fact that you feel guilty means you have a great big heart and you give a damn about people, don't forget that. Are ya' having nightmares again?"
"...A little. I've been able to wake myself up before the nightmares get too intense."
"Wish I knew a way to keep nightmares away entirely."
"As do I."
"Back to the case." Wanting to change the subject at hand Hank focused on their assignment rather than what Connor had done in his free time. "We're possibly looking for a deviant standing at five foot eleven, and is right handed. They have a nasty habit of walking up behind unsuspecting people, sticking them with the knife right in the abdomen, and then disappear from sight. What do we know about the knife itself?"
"...The blade is approximately four inches in length and made of an incredibly sturdy material that is kept dangerously sharp. Perhaps titanium and a blend of a secondary material."
"A blend?" The physical composition of the knife beyond length wasn't something Hank ever thought about. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"The types of wounds that the deviant victims..." Seeing the injuries as he spoke Connor closed his eyes and tried again. "Their wounds were wide and deep as if they were created by a machine rather than a hand. Such a method with a single knife would mean that the knife itself has been modified or is composed of some hybrid deposit that allowed the blade to remain consistently sharp after the numerous stabs. This type of weaponry is unknown to me."
"That's fuckin' weird. I'm not an expert on knives or melding functions, but a knife being two different metals forged together just seems impossible."
"It's undoubtedly difficult to meld two different metal types into one, however, under very skilled and educated hands it is possible."
"What if the knife is just a normal knife and it's the edge of the blade that's been modified?"
Connor's yellow L.E.D. cycled a little faster as he contemplated the suggestion as Hank pulled the car into the parking garage neighboring the precinct. "How so?"
"Maybe the blade of the knife is being coated with something that keeps it sharp. There are a few tricks that a lot of weapon connoisseurs use to keep their rare and antique knives as sharp and pristine as possible. Might be worth looking into."
"You believe the suspect collects knives." As the car reached its usual space Connor contemplated the suggestion and decided it wasn't impossible since deviants were just as capable of developing hobbies as humans were. "Interesting."
"Check with the deviant community and see if anyone is a knife-nut. Might be our best lead."
"I will do so." Exiting the car while Hank did the same, the senior detective carrying both of their frozen drinks inside the precinct to continue to enjoy as the heat index rose, Connor was met with another warning about his core temperature rising as the sun rested high in the sky at one in the afternoon. "It'd be best to refrain from going back out into the field unless absolutely necessary."
"Yeah, I hear that. I swear it's even hotter now than it was just an hour ago."
"It is. It's now one-hundred and four degrees in the shade. One-hundred and nine on the blacktop."
"Fuckin' hell..." Stepping into the moderately cooler reception area Hank immediately began sipping his lemonade and handed Connor back his drink to ensure he stayed cool as well. "Don't let yourself dehydrate."
"Androids don't-"
"Yeah, yeah. But if I gotta' stick to water all day so I don't keel over then you gotta' humor me and keep drinking the frozen Thirium."
"Of course" Taking back the styrofoam cup Connor began to slowly drink at the blue tinted lemonade and dismissed the rising temperature warnings from his sight yet again. "I hope Sumo will be okay in this heat."
"I cranked up the air conditioner before we left. I know you put down three more huge bowls of water for him, too, so he'll be fine."
"How does he normally do in the summertime?"
"He hides from the sun like most people." Returning to their desks Hank readjusted the fan to keep the cool air blowing on his neck and shoulders. "He lays on his side on the cool kitchen or bathroom floors, and only goes in the shade when he actually needs to go outside."
"Smart dog."
"Surprisingly, yeah. He has his moments."
Walking past the two desks with a cold towel pressed to the back of his neck Ben gave Hank and Connor a small sigh as he knew the two detectives were just as miserable as everyone else. "Glad you two survived the heat. How bad is it?"
"Remember that case we worked together when we needed to stake out the crackhouse down on Fourth Street?" Giving Ben a rather annoyed glance Hank took another sip of his lemonade and watched as Ben's eyes narrowed with the grim memory. "Like that. But at least neither me or Connor had to chase a topless crack-whore running impossibly fast on six inch heels down the scorching hot street. It took three weeks for the burns on the side of my face, neck and palms to heel after I tackled her to the pavement."
"Say what you want about 'Dashing Dixie'," Ben reminisced to his rookie days alongside Hank with a faint grin on his face. "but that girl mastered the art of running in heels and I can only be impressed and not mad."
"Can't deny that."
Glancing about the bullpen Connor noticed that everyone was struggling to cope with the heat even with the air conditioner and cool water to drink staving off the heat outside. Ben was red faced and sweating heavily, Chris was wearing only his t-shirt and uniform pants as opposed to a full uniform shirt, Tina was fanning herself with an old case file and Captain Fowler was holed up in his private office with two fans on his desk and large bottle of water in his hand. Everyone was sweating, tired, miserable and struggling to focus.
"It's unfortunate that the police department cannot temporarily close down until the heat passes." Connor made sure to whisper his opinion as he took another sip of his lemonade. Enjoying the new flavor and the cooling sensation Connor was drinking the treat much faster than he even realized. "What can I do to help everyone?"
"Just keep doing your job and don't do anything that'll push you or anyone else during this nasty heatwave."
"I will attempt to do so." Finishing off the Thirium-based lemonade Connor deposited the now empty cup in the recycling bin under his and Hank's desk, then set about checking over Lucas's filed reports regarding the other witness statements. All were consistent in that no one had seen their attacker, but one detail was different than the others. "...Curious."
Never looking away from his own terminal screen Hank heard the 'eureka' tone of Connor's voice and needed to know what had changed in the case. "What did ya' find?"
"One of the deviant victims mentioned seeing an unknown human male in the vicinity who matches the height of our suspect. He also swore he saw the man slip something potentially metallic into the pocket of his black colored jacket."
"Shit. Did they get a look at his face, or what he slipped into his pocket?"
"No. They cannot definitely say if the human he saw is the one who attacked him or give a description on the human, but he is certain that this human was the only other person in the area just prior to being attacked."
"And this was the first deviant who got stabbed, right?"
"Correct." Glancing up a little as he saw Tina getting frustrated with her own case and decided he'd assist her once he finished with his current investigation as he searched for a lead. "The first deviant victim is also a maintenance android who is tasked with checking the city surveillance system in the Eastern district of the city."
"Was he on his way to fix that camera when he was attacked?"
"Correct again."
"Not a coincidence. Guess our deviant suspect is a human after all." Taking a thoughtful sip of his steadily melting lemonade Hank gave his deviant partner a coy glance. "Sounds like our mad stabbed knew about the camera but almost lost his chance to take down his victim. That's why this victim is the only one who caught even the smallest of a glimpse of the psycho and his knife."
"Agreed. We should monitor the city surveillance cameras and place a patrol in the area to monitor the area directly."
"I can do ya' one better."
Tilting his head a little to the side Connor gave Hank a curious glance. "How so?"
"We can intentionally pull a camera offline, place some plains-clothes officers in the area, and bait a nice big trap for our psychotic rat."
"Interesting. That could be the key to bringing him in."
Finishing off his lemonade Hank tossed his now empty cup into the bin under his desk and let out a small sigh. "I'll tell Fowler."
Watching as Hank walked into the smaller private office on the other side of the bullpen Connor too rose to his feet and approached Tina to try to assist her in her own case files. Without a single complaint Tina had been busting her ass to keep up with the piling workload during Gavin's absence, and Saxon's refusal to work with her or anyone else. As the young officer wiped some heavy sweat beads from her forehead onto a tissue Connor offered to assist her in any way she might need.
"Officer Chen?" Standing beside her desk without getting too close Connor spoke to her in a kind voice of understanding and patience. "Might I ask what case you're currently working on?"
"Well, I'm working on a string of reported creeps staking out community pools and snapping photos of the patrons wearing bathing suits, and I'm working on a potential electrical fire at a shitty department store downtown, and there is a case of a potential drug deal gone wrong." Just as she was about to turn away from her terminal screen another case popped up and Tina out an exasperated sigh that perfectly reflected how she felt. "AND I just got an assignment to stake out a damn surveillance camera to find some freak with a knife!"
"...My apologies." Realizing that he and Hank were unintentionally responsible for Tina's latest assignment Connor decided to help her out as much as he could. "Let me assist you."
"If you can sort through this evidence then by all means, please!" Clearly tired and ready to call it a day Tina pushed her chair aside and motioned for Connor to connect to her terminal directly. "Have at it."
"Very well." Pressing his exposed right palm to Tina's terminal screen Connor uploaded all of the information and quickly sifted through it. Able to ease piece together the evidence that Tina's tired eyes couldn't focus on Connor managed to close her three active cases and issue several arrest warrants regarding each case, save for her most recent assignment. "...Done."
Tina almost glared at Connor as she looked up at him with an incredulous gaze. "...You're kidding."
"I am not."
Pushing Connor's hand aside Tina stared at her terminal screen with wide and bloodshot eyes. "...What the fuck did you do?"
"I was able to objectively view each piece of evidence as I am not working while mentally and physically exhausted. It wasn't anything extraordinary."
"Oh. Well, enlighten me O' well-rested-one. What were these cases about?"
"The photographer at the local pools was in fact a group of lifeguards who have a history of sexual misconduct who failed to register as legally required. The four lifeguards are all being actively arrested and will have the photographs they've taken used as evidence against them in court and then destroyed. The fire in the department store was actually a failed attempt at arson to collect insurance money. Traces of rubbing alcohol on every outlet supposedly being used as 'cleanser' was not part of the store's protocol, and the bottle of rubbing alcohol was located in the store owner's car trunk as opposed to the supply closet."
"...And the drug deal?"
"Unfounded. The proclaimed suspect in this case is innocent and is merely dealing with a landlord who wants to evict him so she can raise the rent on the apartment for a new tenant. She is currently being investigated for fraud."
Pressing her palms against her face Tina sank back in her chair and let out a deep breath. "Why the fuck am I even here when you can-"
"Officer Chen, you're a skilled officer and strong candidate for being a detective." Taking a page from Hank's playbook Connor refused to let the exhausted officer diminish her own skills and accomplishments. "You're just tired."
"Don't I know it." Lowering her hands Tina glanced over at Saxon standing in the corner of the bullpen with a tablet screen in his hands and a scowl on his face. The new officer was just another warm body on the roster until Gavin came back, IF he came back, and it was clear no one was going to miss Saxon once he was gone. "...Now I get to sit in a hot car with 'Captain Sunshine' over there. Fantastic."
Scanning over Tina's person Connor noted she was stressed out and needed time to rest. Being forced to work with someone she did not trust or enjoy the company of was only going to make her stress worse. "I will accompany you on your assignment."
"Wait, what?"
"You clearly do not wish to work alongside Saxon and since it was Lieutenant Anderson and myself who requested this particular stakeout to aid in our own case, it's only fair that I assist you with this assignment as well."
"You'd be willing to take on an extra assignment in this overbearing heat when you have the chance to clock-out at your normal time and hide away from the world?"
"Yes. You deserve the chance to clock-out at a decent time as well."
"Connor, you're the greatest deviant in the history of the universe."
The compliment was as illogical as it was impossible to prove or accept. "...Thank you?"
"Since you've helped me finally get those other cases out of the way we can head out to the assigned street, and begin the stakeout. Let's just hope whoever we're waiting for doesn't get delayed and let us bake in the sun."
Armed with their usual weapons and two ice cold bottles of water Connor and Tina sat in the unmarked patrol car just down the street from the bus station where the surveillance camera had been intentionally pulled offline for a set period of time. Connor was sitting behind the steering wheel while Tina was sitting in the front passenger seat and struggling to keep her eyes open. The cool air circulated in the vehicle and kept the two officers from getting too hot as the sun continued to burn over the city. While the two officers sat in the unmarked car with their eyes fixed on the bus station right where the currently disabled camera resided, Connor kept continuously cybernetically updating Hank on the situation at hand.
Noting that the temperature was still continuing to rise, reaching one-hundred and six as three o'clock in the afternoon arrived, Connor made sure that Tina wasn't overheating or too exhausted to continue the stakeout. As he glanced over at Tina beside him Connor could see her eyes slipping shut as her body leaned back into her seat, and she was finally able to get some much needed sleep.
'There is no sign of anyone matching our suspect's description at the scene.' Able to communicate silently and cybernetically Connor maintained constant contact with the precinct at all times. 'Has there been any change in our case since I left?'
'Nah.' Speaking with Connor over his phone Hank kept his partner up to speed from afar. 'The only thing you missed was Saxon having a bit of temper tantrum when he was entirely left out of the stakeout.'
'A... temper tantrum?'
'Yup. The arrogant prick was actually offended that Tina didn't waste her breath with telling the asshole to actually do his job, and happily decided to work with you instead. Guess his precious ego couldn't take her being professional and not wasting her time with him.'
'What has Captain Fowler done about his attitude?'
'Well, after me and Ben chewed out his sorry ass for being disrespectful, lazy and hypocritical Fowler took him into his office and chewed up the rest of him. Right now he's still getting chewed up and looks like a piece of gum that got spit in the street and then run over a few times.'
'Is he going to be held accountable for his repeated bad behavior in regard to refusing to work with other officers?'
'Yup. I guess the asshole's going to be taken off the roster in a couple weeks instead of months. Fowler would rather deal with one less detective in the bullpen than an additional asshole making things twice as difficult for everyone else.'
'That'll be good news for Tina to hear.'
'How's she doing? Tired?'
Picking up on Tina's slowed vital signs and deep breaths Connor confirmed that she was in fact tired. 'She is currently sleeping.'
'Give her about twenty minutes if you can, then wake her back up. I know from experience it's hard to go from dead asleep to sprinting after suspects during a stakeout.'
'I will do so. Please keep me apprised of what's happening the precinct.'
'Right. See ya' back here later.'
Ending the call Connor readjusted the cool vents to keep them directed over Tina and set up a timer in his own mind to ensure Tina didn't sleep too long as they staked out the area. The bus station was moderately empty due to the intense heat and luckily that it made it easier to protect people in the event that the suspect didn't target one of the three plain-clothed officer wearing the protective Kevlar vests under their clothing.
From the distance where he sat in the car Connor scanned over the trio of people and could see that they were red faced and sweating heavily. According to his scanner the trio were beginning to suffer from heat exhaustion and he didn't want to see them collapse.
"Those officers are becoming ill from the extreme heat."
Stepping out of the car for a moment Connor popped open the car's trunk and reached for the portable cooler filled with ice and water bottles for emergency use. Pulling out three bottles of water from the large partially melted ice cubes Connor made his way over to the bus station to check on the three officers, and give them the water. Keeping a low profile Connor sat down on the bench beside the first officer and passed the water over to her to take.
"Anyone of the appropriate height seen in the area?"
"Negative, sir."
"Okay. I want you to go inside the station for ten minutes to cool down, then rotate with the others and give them the water." Passing her the other two bottles of water Connor made his orders clear and succinct. "It's too hot for you to risk being exposed to direct sunlight for too long."
"Thank you, Sergeant."
"I'll be watching from my patrol car. The stakeout will end in forty-two minutes and twelve seconds."
As he walked down the dangerously hot street Connor's visual processors were bombarded with additional red warnings regarding his core temperature quickly rising as his exposure to the sunlight and scorching hot pavement under his shoes overwhelmed his thermal regulator fairly quickly. Ignoring the warnings again Connor put his right hand on the driver's side door handle he detected strange movement from the nearby alleyway that seemed suspicious.
Knocking his knuckles against his window Connor was able to wake Tina up enough to get her attention, then motioned for her to stay seated while he checked out the alleyway. Not wanting to risk Tina collapsing from her own exhaustion and the intense heat Connor decided to check out the alleyway himself while letting Tina know where he was going.
Wandering down the narrow alleyway that was paved with dense blacktop Connor's vision was continuously bombarded with red warnings regarding his core temperature still rising as the small area in the concentrated heat was greatly overwhelming the deviant. The small space and large amount of heat was proving to be a lethal combination.
WARNING:
Power Reserve: 96%
Thirium Pump Rate: 106 b.p.m.^
Ventilation Rate: 18 v.p.m.^
Thirium Pressure - NORMAL: 120/80
Core Temperature - ELEVATED: 102.5 Degrees Fahrenheit^
[...begin cooling measures immediately]
[...activate secondary cooling measures?: Y/N]
Selecting 'No' as he didn't want to risk the new update causing him to sweat too heavily or cause his thermal regulator to go into overdrive Connor continued down the alleyway in search of the odd movement that drew him down the narrow space to begin with. Seeing the movement again near the end of the alleyway Connor honed in on the motion and hovered his right hand over the gun holstered around his back.
Announcing his presence in a loud and clear tone Connor approached the end of the alleyway ready to draw his weapon.
"Show your hands, Detroit Police!"
From the rear of the alleyway Connor detected the movement yet again and recognized that what he thought was a person was actually a black trashbag being tossed about in the hot summer breeze. The intense heat causing steam and shaking air along the pavement had fooled Connor's optical relay units into thinking that he had seen a person skulking about in the alleyway.
"...False alarm."
Turning around to walk back down the alleyway feeling a little embarrassed Connor stumbled a little on his feet as he was hit with sudden dizziness and lightheadedness.
WARNING:
Power Reserve: 96%
Thirium Pump Rate: 113 b.p.m.^
Ventilation Rate: 22 v.p.m^
Thirium Pressure - NORMAL: 120/80
Core Temperature - ELEVATED: 102.9 Degrees Fahrenheit^
WARNING: Emergency Stasis Mode activating in: 00:00:57
[...begin cooling measures immediately]
[...activate secondary cooling measures?: Y/N]
"I am..." Selecting 'No' yet again out of sheer force of will Connor tried to get back to the car before it was too late. "...I am struggling."
Walking back down the alleyway with his left hand tracing over the sun heated brick walls to his side Connor struggled to get back to the car as his core temperature swiftly reached critical levels. Once it hit one-hundred and three Connor would be forced into emergency stasis mode, and if he couldn't override it in time he'd pass out on the hot sidewalk.
"T-Tina?"
Just as he stepped out of the end of the alleyway Connor's system reached critical levels and the deviant was greeted with red warnings overlaying a tunneling blackness that slowly stole his vision.
WARNING:
Power Reserve: 96%
Thirium Pump Rate: 117 b.p.m.^
Ventilation Rate: 24 v.p.m^
Thirium Pressure - NORMAL: 120/80
Core Temperature - ELEVATED: 103.1 Degrees Fahrenheit^
WARNING: Emergency Stasis Mode activating in: 00:00:04
[...begin cooling measures immediately]
[...activate secondary cooling measures?: Y/N]
Unable to continue walking Connor felt his legs buckle as he fell to his knees and collapsed face first onto the broiling hot sidewalk before him.
Having seen the deviant collapse Tina quickly threw open her door and rushed to where Connor had passed out just five feet away from the car. Putting her left hand under Connor's head and her right hand to his back Tina lifted Connor's face up from the burning hot concrete and felt Connor's Thirium pump thundering mercilessly in the deviant's chest.
"Shit! Sergeant?!" Struggling with Connor's weight as his overheated body grew even hotter under her touch Tina managed to awkwardly pull Connor's right arm around her shoulders and heft him up just as awkwardly onto his feet at her side. Struggling with his towering height leaning with its full dead weight against her side Tina walked Connor over to the patrol car, and opened up the backseat's door to sit him down inside. "I'll get you some help, don't worry."
Making sure to guide Connor backward over the length of the backseat with a careful motion Tina unbuttoned Connor's dress shirt to expose his chest to the cold air circulating through the car. Grabbing one of the two bottles of water from the cup holders in the front seat Tina opened up the lid and poured the cool contents over Connor's chest to try to stave off the intense heat threatening the deviant's biocomponents. After bending Connor's knees to get his long legs to rest over the backseat without the door being shut on his feet, Tina slammed the door closed and rushed to the driver's side of the car to drive off.
Flustered and still tired but rushing about on pure adrenaline Tina radioed in Connor's collapse, and reported that she was going back to the precinct to get him technical assistance. Knowing she wouldn't be able to locate a facility with her mind somewhat clouded and her reflexes delayed Tina decided her best bet would be the precinct since she'd find her way back there on autopilot alone.
"Connor, I'm not sure if you can hear me or not..."
Pulling the car onto the street Tina turned on the lights and sirens, and sped off toward the precinct where she knew help would be waiting for the unconscious deviant.
"But I promise you'll be just fine!"
Having heard the radioed in report Hank stood at the rear entrance of the precinct with Joel beside him. They didn't have a stretcher or gurney at their disposal, so having two men carrying the unconscious deviant through the door and up to the dispensary would be a hell of a lot easier than just one. Without any idea of how severely Connor had overheated or how long he was has been unconscious, the two men were righteously anxious about what type of condition Connor could be in once Tina arrived at the backdoor to the precinct.
Hank was dragging his left forearm over his sweaty forehead while Joel was awkwardly shuffling on his feet. With Hank only wearing his t-shirt with the dress shirt over top of totally unbuttoned, and Joel wearing his jeans and white t-shirt instead of his jumpsuit and lab coat, the two men greatly empathized with anyone getting taken down by the heat on that day.
"There." Hank watched as the patrol car sped toward the backdoor and came to an abrupt stop just outside the door. Watching as Tina threw open the driver's side door Hank threw open the backdoor and propped it open. "Let's get him up to the dispensary."
"You need to let me make sure he's stable enough to be moved first." Joel reminded Hank as he approached the car first and pulled open the door to the backseat. Leaning over Connor's face as the deviant remained unconscious over the backseat Joel checked Connor's eyes with his penlight, and saw a small dark blue burn on the left side of Connor's cheek when he collapsed to the sidewalk. "Normal response in the ocular relay units."
Tina was shaking where she stood and very pale as she watched Connor being examined. "...He hasn't moved since he passed out."
Noticing that Tina was shaking Hank grabbed onto the young officer's right arm and showed her to the door. "Let's get you inside for a sec', Tina. We'll handle Connor from here."
Continuing a quick examination of Connor's vital signs; Thirium pump rate, ventilation rate and core temperature without any instruments at his disposal, Joel determined that Connor was stable enough to be moved about. Slipping the penlight into his back jean pocket Joel hooked his arms around Connor's chest and under the deviant's limp arms, then began pulling the deviant off of the backseat and out of the car.
"Hold up." Returning to the rear of the precinct Hank took hold of Connor's legs and let Joel lead the way back into the precinct as they carried the deviant into the cool building together. "Down."
Joel easily sat Connor down on the floor just long enough for him to grab onto Connor's right arm while Hank took the left arm. "Ready?"
"Yup. Go."
Working together the senior detective and the technician pulled Connor's arms around their shoulders to heft the deviant down the hallway and toward the elevator. Word had gotten out about Connor's collapse and as such everyone kept out of the hallway and elevator to ensure there was plenty of room to get the deviant up to the dispensary where he needed to go.
"How bad is he, Joel?"
"Bad enough." Entering the elevator as the doors 'dinged' open Joel tried to estimate Connor's core temperature by touch alone. "If he went down because of emergency stasis mode, then I can confirm he's hovering around one-hundred and three."
"Feels like it, too."
The elevator quickly reached the second floor and the two men easily hefted Connor down the corridor and into the cool dispensary for treatment. After laying Connor over the exam table for a more accurate assessment and treatment Joel went right into technician mode.
"Okay, Connor. Let's get you taken care of."
Rolling a small metal table with a tray atop of it over to the exam table Joel picked up a thermal wrap and secured it around Connor's left wrist to check his core temperature, and his pulse that was now present courtesy of the new update. Quickly the digital display lit up with Connor's current temperature and Joel proceeded to fully unbutton and pull open Connor's dampened dress shirt.
"He's up to one-hundred and three point two degrees."
Wiping away more sweat from his forehead Hank let out a tired sigh as he focused on his partner. "What do we do?"
"In the supply room I placed some water bottles inside a cooler full of ice. Go grab the bottles and help me pour it over Connor to get him to cool off."
"I can do that." Locating the bright red cooler in the supply room Hank grabbed all four of the bottles of water and carried them back over to the exam table to be used on the overheating deviant. Unscrewing the lid of the first bottle Hank eyed the blue burn on the left side Connor's face and the red glowing L.E.D. warily. "How's his face?"
"First degree burn. Based on the burn's location and shape," Joel lightly pressed his left fingertips along the blue tinted burn while Hank poured the cold water over Connor's chest and legs. "I'd say he passed out on the sidewalk and got burned from the hot concrete."
"That's gotta' hurt."
"Fortunately, he's unconscious and can't feel it." Taking one of the water bottles for himself Joel poured a small amount on the burn and then over Connor's hair to ensure the deviant's intracranial processor didn't melt. "He'll be out of it for a while. We should use the ice in the cooler to create a compress for his forehead and thermal regulator to ensure he stays cool."
"Good idea." Retrieving the entire cooler Hank placed it down on the floor beside the exam table. "Once he's covered in ice I'll go make sure Tina isn't sick from the heat, too."
Arriving at his apartment right on time; six twenty-seven in the evening, Lucas walked into the livingroom and saw Gavin sitting on the floor as he tried to entice Lucky to check out the laundry basket, while Aaron was asleep over the couch. Sensing an odd tension in the air Lucas felt Gavin glaring at him the moment he walked through the door, and it was enough to make his previously blue L.E.D. flash to yellow and pulse a little faster. Not wanting to return to his apartment and argue for any reason Lucas silently walked down the hallway to change out of his work uniform and into his more casual clothing, while Gavin seethed in the livingroom.
Unsure of what was wrong or what to expect Lucas just removed his tie, his red dress shirt and dark jeans to change into a white t-shirt and pair of paler jeans to get more comfortable. Braving the tense air outside of his bedroom the deviant returned to the livingroom and gave Gavin a subtle nod to acknowledge his need to talk.
"So..." Speaking up in an almost accusatory tone without actually raising his voice Gavin eyed Lucas bitterly. "Got anything to tell me?"
"...About what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Your day, your hobbies," using a sharp and dry wit to emphasis his point Gavin effectively buried the lead. "your metal case stashed under the couch..."
"Oh." Blushing a faint blue tint Lucas's gray eyes lowered to the floor guiltily. "I'm sorry you found it."
"What the fuck, man?" Making a conscious effort to not shout and wake up Aaron on the couch Gavin just growled instead. "Why's it even here?"
"Because I want to help you."
"By giving me a fake arm?"
"No. By ensuring you can continue your career as a detective."
Not expecting that answer Gavin's train of thought and mentally pre-rehearsed script for the confrontation all fell apart. "...Why do you care about my job?"
"Because you're a skilled detective and you're an asset to the city as a whole. We need you to come back." Holding his ground while looking needlessly guilty Lucas made it clear his intentions were sincerely meant to be beneficial. "Tina needs her partner back in the bullpen and she needs her best friend to get better."
Calming himself down as Aaron's earlier words replayed in his mind Gavin reminds himself that Lucas wasn't trying to hurt him or hinder him in any way, let alone mock him for any reason. Lucas was just trying to help. "...Why didn't you ask me about the prosthesis?"
"I knew you weren't ready to speak about it yet, and I was worried that you wouldn't be willing to work with physical therapists regarding the prosthesis."
"You got that right... So sick of doctors." Scratching at the back of his neck as he felt himself cooling off both physically and emotionally Gavin stayed on the floor and let his glare fade. "But what makes you think I'd care about whatever arm you picked out for me?"
"The prosthetic arm in the case isn't an atypical replacement limb." Kneeling down beside the couch Lucas grabbed the case by its handle and pulled it back out from under the furniture and back into sight. Placing the case down on the coffee table Lucas removed the snaps and flipped the lid of the case open to reveal the special limb tucked inside. "This is a bionic arm and can restore one hundred percent of your mobility, range and strength once it has been synchronized to your particular brain pattern and electrical activity."
Staring at the white and black arm tucked in the protective gray foam Gavin was entirely speechless as he rose to his feet. He had never seen anything like the arm before and he was almost afraid to touch it. The arm was currently inactive, limp and shining in the livingroom's overhead light. The lack of CyberLife, Digital Sentience or any other company logo on the box was strange and somewhat ominous to Gavin's keen eyes.
"...Where did you get that thing?"
Wanting to stay honest Lucas told Gavin the truth. "...Directly from your brother."
"Kamski!? That demented asshole helped you out?!"
"As it turns out he has been keeping busy during his retirement by creating prototypes for biocomponents, artificial organs and bionic limbs."
"...He made this for me?"
"He had made it out of his own curiosity and gave it to me so you could have it. You don't have to wear if you don't want to." Lucas reminded the guarded detective in a calm tone as his yellow L.E.D. returned to blue. "This is just an option."
"...It looks fake. Everyone will know it's fake and they'll stare."
"Not necessarily." Pressing the small concealed switch at the end of the new limb Lucas activated the artificial skin and easily adjusted the skin tone to perfectly match Gavin's complexion. With a few more adjustments Lucas was able to make the arm perfectly mirror Gavin's left arm in length, muscle mass and even had a few freckles thrown in to make the arm look as human as possible. "...It can be customized at will."
"Holy shit." Now a little afraid of the arm Gavin took a step back and turned his face away with a scoff. "...What kind of Frankenstein bullshit is this?"
"It's merely a prototype showcasing the ingenuity of the human mind when it comes to technology. As I stated you do not have to use this arm if you don't want to, it's just an option."
"Right... Fuckin' weird."
"I will agree with that." Closing the case Lucas went to pick it up but stopped when he saw Gavin take a step forward as if to stop him. "...Something wrong?"
"No. Just... Just leave it there." Trying to save face Gavin quickly came up with an excuse to keep the case on the coffee table. "Found that while looking for one of Lucky's toys. Might as well leave it on the table so it'll be easier to find her toys when she knocks them under the couch again."
"...Yes, of course." Picking up on the subtle hint Lucas left the case alone and proceeded to check over Lucky while the fluffy cat laid on the floor beside the laundry basket. Lightly placing his right palm over the cat's belly Lucas ran a scan and smirked. "The kittens are all healthy and active. I suspect Lucky will be delivering within the next week."
"Yeah?" Grateful for the change in subject Gavin looked at Lucky as she purred under Lucas's touch and flexed her paws in the air as if kneading dough. "So Lucky's healthy, too, right?"
"Yes. All of her vital signs are strong just like the kittens. She is also at a healthy weight considering her breed, age and stage of pregnancy; as well as her current litter size."
"That's good. It'll make things easier once the kittens are born. Then comes the chore of kitten-proofing the apartment once they get big and strong enough to walk around and play."
That particular term was completely foreign to Lucas's mind. "...'Kitten-proof'?"
"Yeah. We gotta' make sure they don't sneak out the apartment door when we leave or enter, keep the balcony door locked, make sure they can't climb up on the counters or tables, and make sure they don't claw the furniture."
"Oh. That won't be too difficult."
Chuckling a little Gavin walked over to the couch and ran his right hand up Aaron's right arm as his boyfriend continued to nap peacefully. "Spoken like someone who's never been around a rambunctious litter of kittens before..."
As a heavy dark fog lifted from his mind Connor opened his blurry soulful brown eyes and found himself staring blankly up at the ceiling of the dispensary as he laid over the exam table. Lifting up his head a little Connor felt an icy cool washcloth slip from his forehead and land on the table to his right with an audible 'plop'. As he made a move to grab the cloth with his left hand Connor felt a strong hand rest on his left shoulder beside him. Turning back to see who was standing beside him Connor saw the worried look in Hank's blue eyes and realized he had been rescued by Tina after collapsing, and then helped by Hank and Joel afterward.
Pulling his hand back Hank gave the deviant a small sigh and put his hands to his hips. "Glad you're awake, kid."
"As am I." Running a self diagnostic Connor noted he had been unconscious for four hours, fifty-one minutes and nine seconds. His vitals were all stable and his core temperature was back down to his normal degree thanks to Joel's very effective treatment methods. "I'm stable and can leave. It's getting late."
"Sure. Just let Joel give you a once over for his report and my peace of mind, and we'll head out."
Sitting upright on the table Connor rebuttoned his white dress shirt after the second ice pack fell from his abdomen, and glanced about the dispensary in search of the kind technician. "Where is Joel?"
"Checking on one of the security androids in the parking garage. Chris saw him acting weird when he clocked-out and now Joel is helping him instead of you. Turns out you're not the only one having trouble with the heat today."
"I apologize if I frightened you or Tina."
"Connor, you have nothing to apologize for. Shit happens."
"It was still an unfortunate-"
"Shit. Happens." Repeating his statement with more emphasis Hank silenced Connor before he could begin. "So don't kick yourself while you're already down."
"Okay." Finished with his shirt Connor swung his legs over the edge of the table and faced Hank directly. "Is Tina doing well?"
"Yeah. She's tired as fuck but she's okay. Fowler told her to take tomorrow off and told Saxon that if he wants to keep his badge he has to make up for all the damn work he pushed off onto Tina, and just ignored. The prick is pissed but oh well. No one cares."
"Sounds fair to me."
"Yup. Once we're back at the house you're going to take a cool shower and chill on the couch for a while."
"But I'm stable now."
"You still passed out from the heat and needed to rest for almost five hours before you woke up." Taking the dropped washcloth from beside Connor the senior detective pressed the cool compress to the still fading blue burn on Connor's left cheek lightly. "And I want to make sure you stay cooled down before I'll be able to get any sleep tonight."
Feeling the burn now that the cool compress was being pressed against it Connor winced a little causing his blue L.E.D. to flash to yellow. "...Very well."
"As far as heatstrokes go you're lucky you didn't pass out in the street or bash you head open when you went down. Also, you don't need to spend the night in the hospital hooked up to an I.V., or getting your kidneys and brain checked over for any sign of damage. You get to sleep it off under a layer of ice."
The idea of being buried in ice made Connor's stomach turn. "I hate the cold."
"Me too." Giving Connor's shoulder a firm pat Hank quietly chuckled. "But I'll suffer throught a cold day over seeing my partner laid-up and sick."
Understanding what Hank was telling him Connor agreed with the sentiment as he pressed the cold compress a little firmer against his left cheek. "Given the situation I believe I'd have the same reaction."
-next chapter-