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Hank was not happy. Not happy. At. All.
Why was he so miserable? It was just gone fucking 6am, he was tired as shit after a long night at the precinct, and he was currently standing around outside looking like an absolute spare. And his damned android partner was inside doing god knows what.
Sighing in irritation, he pulled out his phone again and texted Connor. The little shit had somehow convinced him to be the one to stand at the entrance to the precinct and wait for their new arrival.
Remind me again why I'm the one standing outside freezing my nuts off?
You are the one who was complaining about struggling to stay awake, Hank. Are you telling me the cold has not sufficiently chased away your exhaustion?
Nothing that a damn coffee wouldn't have sorted. This is ridiculous, Connor. Why would she be arriving at this time?
The Captain was quite clear that her arrival time was 06:15. Since I am the only one she is currently familiar with, he wanted us to be here to greet her.
So, I ask again. Why the fuck am I out here?!
Connor took his time in answering back, which had Hank suspicious. He knew the android could message and work at the same time. Hell, he could even be speaking to someone and text another three people at once if he wanted to!
Connor, what the fuck are you doing?
What makes you think I am doing anything other than working, Hank?
Don't start that shit with me, you took your damn time in answering me there. I'd like to think by now that I know your sass well enough to know you'll just give me snark if you want to. You being silent is always a giveaway.
You'll find out soon.
I swear if you've booby-trapped my desk, I'll be tossing you out on your ass.
Hank didn't get the opportunity to see if Connor answered him when he saw a young woman in a long black coat come to stand outside the station hesitantly. She was average height, her build was disguised by the coat which clung to her frame and Hank took note of her curled blonde hair falling over one shoulder. He was suspicious when she kept staring at the building nervously, but he dismissed the notion. Connor said the newbie was an android and a former Traci. This young woman doesn't look anything like any of the sex bots we saw that night.
Out of the blue, Hank felt Connor brush past him from his position next to the front door, watching in mild surprise when his android quickly strode down the steps. "Katie?" Connor greeted warmly while extending a hand in greeting.
The woman smiled shyly at him. "Hi, Connor," she responded while shaking Connor's hand. That was when Hank's interest skyrocketed – he didn't miss the brief interface the two shared for all of a second as they shook hands.
Holy shit, she is an android. Christ, she's deceptive, I would be none the wiser.
Connor smiled over to the lieutenant standing by the door and waved him over. "Lieutenant?" The older man huffed in amusement before striding over, taking in the woman before them in more detail now that he was up close. Just like Connor, she had lots of little imperfections to her skin: the odd blemish, freckles, a few crinkles around her eyes and mouth, while her eyes were the most curious mix of a pale green and hazel. "Lieutenant, this is Katie. She's the android which has signed up to join the DPD. Katie, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Hank Anderson. He's my partner."
Katie smiled respectfully and offered a hand. "It's an honour to meet you, Lieutenant. Connor spoke very highly of you when he first trained me."
Hank scoffed. "That would be a first, he's normally a little shit." Connor scowled, and the expression only deepened when Hank ruffled his hair. Katie bit her lip to not burst out laughing, something the other two both caught. "Don't worry, kid, you won't get in trouble for laughing. You'll see us rip the shit out of each other all the time."
Her face relaxed into a gentle smile. "It's nice to see you two so at ease with each other, I wondered what the relationship between a human and android partner would be like."
Hank grunted. "Won't be this easy with everyone, there are a few absolute assholes here, but we'll look out for you, don't worry."
Katie switched her gaze to Connor, who nodded reassuringly. He smiled while gesturing towards the precinct with a soft tone. "Shall we get you settled, then?"
They had a while with Katie before anyone else from the day shift arrived, getting to know the young woman. It turned out she was a prototype Traci model which had not been released before the uprising; and was actually part of the thousands Connor had freed on the night of their freedom. As such, no-one would know she was an android at first appearance. Her LED had been removed and Katie acted incredibly human, something which she accredited to the woman which had adopted her and twelve other androids to give them protection while things were still fractious. Once androids had been given the right to apply for jobs, Katie had instantly signed up for police training.
As another prototype, but from a different field, the higher ups had seen fit to fast track her to a detective role as somewhat of a trial. They wanted to throw her in at the deep end and see how well she coped, as a test for future androids. Katie had been given all the standard training and downloaded as much information as possible, and she had about three months' worth of experience on the streets at this point. Fowler had agreed to her joining the precinct to see whether she could handle the full duties. It only made sense seeing as they were now the prime android crimes division in Detroit.
Except, it wasn't that easy. Katie wasn't joining them. She was being thrown onto the Homicide division, partnering its new lead.
One Gavin fucking Reed.
That caused both Hank and Connor a great deal of discomfort. Gavin was not shy about his feelings towards androids, and having one as his partner could only end badly.
Which was when Hank came up with an idea - one which amused and intrigued Connor greatly.
Fowler arrived at 07:30 and promptly strode over to introduce himself to Katie, who was sat in Connor's chair as the trio talked. She followed him somewhat shyly to his office, and while they were busy, Connor and Hank dove into her records to see whether their plan could become workable. They liked what they saw.
There was no record that Katie was an android at first glance – and unlike almost every other android, she had a last name. After her adoption, she had gained her new mother's name.
Hank took special note of that last detail.
Ten minutes later saw Katie emerge from Fowler's office, at which Hank and Connor swiftly dove inside. The captain growled when the pair entered. "This better be fucking good, you two. It's far too early for this shit and I'm bracing for the headache Reed is going to give me about his new partner," Fowler sighed while scribbling at a form on his desk.
Connor and Hank shared a look before the android continued politely. "Actually, sir, that situation is exactly why we are here."
Fowler raised an eyebrow. "Reed and Marshall? What about them?"
Hank smirked. "You're worried about the shit Reed's gonna give you when he finds out his new partner is an android? Simple: don't tell him." Fowler's eyebrow raised even higher as stopped scribbling and looked at the pair. Hank was grinning from ear-to-ear as he continued. "Look, we all know Reed is going to throw a fit as soon as he finds out about Katie, right? The poor girl doesn't need that, and we don't need the angst. She's not immediately obvious, she's even got a last fucking name! Reed won't know any different unless one of us tells him the girl is an android. So…we wait and see how long it takes him."
The captain waved a hand dismissively. "Hank, I'm not interested in getting involved in your little game to get one up on Reed. I'm certainly not dragging the newbie into it."
Connor jumped in at this point. "Captain, this could be an excellent opportunity to improve the detective's opinions on androids. If he works side-by-side with one, oblivious to their nature, then he can see the benefits to such a partnership without immediate bias. Also, it would be an interesting experiment in learning of the views within the precinct generally. People know I am an android, and naturally treat me as one. It would be highly intriguing to see the difference between the assumption of Katie as a human, and the eventual revelation of her as an android."
When Fowler sat and thought for a few seconds, the pair knew they'd won. The captain finally sighed explosively. "All right, fine, we'll do it your way. You'd better make sure Marshall is on board with this shit first, though."
"That won't be an issue, sir, I am sure."
The pair emerged from the office with matching smiles, and Hank couldn't help but to whisper over to Connor as they wandered back to their desks. "Nice argument. Did you just come up with that on the fly?"
He sat down with a satisfied smile. "Indeed I did, but none of it is untrue. It is a legitimate case for not revealing Katie's identity."
Hank smirked over at him. "Come on, Connor, admit it. You're on board with this because you want to see Reed's horrified face when he eventually learns his partner is an android as much as I do." Connor just winked at him, which led to Hank barking out a laugh. He watched in fascination as Connor's LED started blinking yellow, and the lieutenant watched the young woman sitting at a vacant desk opposite Gavin's own, across the room, closely. When she looked up in shock at Connor, Hank's suspicion was confirmed: Connor was telling her of their plan via the android network.
She gave them both an unsure glance, but eventually nodded. They both sent reassuring smiles back at her.
Gavin appeared half an hour later, not even noticing the new entrant to the precinct. He simply huffed and tossed his jacket over the back of his chair, dropping his phone and coffee on his desk with an agitated sigh before sitting down.
Right into the chair which abruptly collapsed under his weight, causing a massive clamour.
Everyone watched in shock as they saw the detective collide with the ground hard, but it was notable how many people laughed instead of helping him up. Hank instantly grinned widely before kicking at Connor slyly under the table. The android looked over at him lazily. "So that's what you were up to when you sent me outside, you little shit," Hank deduced.
Connor smirked subtly as they watched Katie try to help Gavin stand, leading to a very awkward introduction between the pair. "Was it worth 'freezing your nuts off' for, Hank?" he asked with just a slight air of smugness.
Hank shook his head and smiled as he watched Gavin aim a glare first at Fowler's office, and then at them, before turning back to his new partner. "Oh, absolutely. I'll always enjoy watching Reed fail at life."
They couldn't deny their secret excitement at seeing just how this little experiment was going to pan out. Gavin's face was going to be an absolute picture.