A/N: Hey guys, it's Bepsi! School starts tomorrow which means I won't be able to update as often as I have been T_T expect updates for the fic every seven-to-ten days (sometimes it may take longer than that depending on weekly workload). Please accept my apologies and thank you for understanding! Enjoy the chapter n' let me know what you think~
The pair walked down the wide hallway leading to the club's entrance. Projectors on both sides of the men displayed revealing images of different android models offered at the establishment, flaunting their exclusive HR400 and WR400 Tracis in particular.
"Wait," Gavin squinted his eyes to better make out the main door, "Is that a police tape hologram covering the entrance?"
Richard knit his brows, "Yes," he nodded, "It appears so."
"The fuck?" the detective expressed in an agitated tone, "I specifically told dispatch that this was our case. Who else is here?" he asked before crossing his arms over his chest.
"Perhaps they sent more officers for assistance," the android brought his hands behind his back.
Gavin rolled his eyes, "Great."
The men passed the police tape and walked into the club. They were greeted with several frightened androids dressed in lingerie who were exchanging nervous whispers regarding what happened earlier in the evening. Some of them stopped to stare at the pair as they approached.
"Oh boy," Gavin whisper under his breath.
"Would you like me to take the lead?" RK900 raised a brow.
The detective shot an offended look at the machine before he turned towards the android workers with a hmph. He brought a hand to his mouth and loudly cleared his throat.
The androids glanced at the brunette, their whispers quieting down in the process.
"Hey, um," Gavin rubbed the back of his head, "I'm Gavin and this is Richard," he pointed to the machine. "We're from the Detroit Police Department. Can any one of you point us to the manager of this place?"
Just then, a door to one of the rooms opened and out popped Hank's head.
"I thought I heard your voice," the Lieutenant stated before raising his brows, "Woah," he blinked a few times, "Haven't seen you in that getup in years," he looked at the detective's police uniform.
"Hank?" Gavin tilted his head in confusion, "The hell're you doing here?"
"Just leave the androids alone and get in here, will ya?" the older officer motioned with a hand.
The brunette let out an irritated grunt before walking past the small group of androids.
Richard smiled warmly at the android workers before closely following his grumpy counterpart from behind as they approached the room the Lieutenant was in.
The door to the room automatically opened as the pair moved forward. In the room stood Lieutenant Anderson, Sergeant Pence and Officer Davis of central station. Next to the policemen were two other gentlemen—one, a blonde and the other, a ginger—who were talking to each other.
Gavin's eyes rounded as he recognized the blonde man. It was Reggie, Eli's best friend from high school. He chose to remain silent to avoid any awkward dialogue and focus on the crime scene.
"Wow," the brunette whistled, "Didn't know there was a party in here," he smirked sarcastically.
"Nice to see you too, Gavin," Sergeant Pence waved.
"Did none of you get the memo that this was our case?" the brunette expressed through narrowed eyes. "I told dispatch that we had it under control," he further stressed.
"Fowler sent us to have a look," Officer Davis commented.
Hank brought a hand to the bridge of his nose, "Are we really gonna fight about this shit?" he glared at the detective. "You two," he motioned to Davis and Pence, "Why don't you guys go take a smoke break," he expressed with a small smile, "I'll sort this out."
Pence and Davis exchanged glances before they slowly made their way out of the room.
Lieutenant Anderson sighed before turning towards Richard and Gavin. "Okay," he placed his hands in his coat pockets, "What're you two doing here?"
The younger officer raised his brows in surprise, "Um what?" he chuckled. "We're here because we said we'd be here and this is our fucking case," he leered at the higher ranking officer.
Hank peered over his shoulder at the two men who were still whispering to one another. He turned back towards the detective before leaning in as if about to tell a secret. "No, I mean really, what're you doing here?" he stared at the brunette with a concerned expression. "I was at the station when Tina said something happened at your place," he stated in a hushed tone. "She took Connor and Chris with her for backup and when I asked what was happening she gave me a look," the Lieutenant drew his brows together, "I knew something was wrong…then she told me it was Shepard…that he was at your place."
Gavin retracted his head, bewildered by what Hank said. He then let out a nervous laugh, "Word travels fast I guess," he shook his head, "I don't have a single ounce of fucking privacy with you people."
Richard glanced at the brunette, noting the brunette's increased heartrate. He placed a hand on his partner's shoulder, "He only means well, detective."
"What Richard said," Hank nodded, "I'm not trying to step on your toes. I just wanna make sure you're oka—"
"I'm fine," Gavin hissed in a bitter manner.
The Lieutenant's eyes drifted from the angered detective to the collected android. He remained quiet for a moment then exhaled. "Alright," he clapped his hands, "I'll leave the rest to you two then," he smiled. "Oh!" Hank pointed up, "Before I collect the other officers and head out," he moved to the side, "This is Dion, the manager of the Eden Club," he motioned to the redheaded man, "And this is Reggie," the Lieutenant turned to look at Gavin, "He was the boyfriend of the android who was killed here earlier."
The detective nodded at them both, hoping that Reggie wouldn't recognize him. "Richard and I will be taking over the case," Gavin expressed in a stern cadence.
"We assure you that we'll find the man behind all this," Richard added.
The detective tilted his head to look at Hank, "Did you guys find anything?" he lifted his shoulders.
"All we know is that the crime was reported to have happened at 5:51 pm," he shook his head, "We got here about 20 minutes ago because it wasn't called in until around that time," he stared at the body on the bed, "We only had time to set up the scene."
"Wonderful," Gavin sardonically stated, "Looks like we're gonna haveta see if we can find anything."
"Good luck," Hank walked over to the door, "Try not to blow a gasket," he advised before nodded to Dion and Reggie and exiting the room.
Gavin watched the Lieutenant leave with an unamused expression. As soon as the door to the room closed the brunette rubbed his hands together. "Okay!" he raised his voice, "The name's—"
"Wait," Reggie's brows snapped together, "Gavin?"
"Ah crap," the brunette whispered under his breath.
"Oh God," the blonde wiped tears from his face, "It really is you," he sniffled. "Y-you became a cop?" he stuttered over his words.
"Yeah," Gavin scratched behind his ear, "Small world, huh?" he stated in an awkward manner.
"I barely recognized you," Reggie eyed the detective, "You've changed a lot since we were kids."
"We can catch up later," the brunette gestured, "Let's just talk about what happened here, hm?"
"Alright, since you're conversing with Reggie" Richard looked to Gavin, "I'll go speak with Dion to see what information he can provide" he expressed with a nod before approaching the manager.
"Garrett and I had been seeing each other for over a year," Reggie stated with saddened eyes, "I met him through the club but…" he paused to stay in control of his emotions, "…He was so much more than just a sex bot."
"Did anyone know about your relationship with Garrett?" the detective asked in a serious tone.
The blonde sighed as he averted the brunette's gaze. "We went public with our relationship two months ago," he brought a hand to rub at his eyes, "I was looking for a ring," his voice cracked.
Gavin arched his brows as he tried to sympathize. "Reggie, what's your profession?" he asked with a gentler cadence.
"Huh?" the blonde furrowed his brows in confusion, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Trust me," Gavin reassured, "It's important."
"I'm Eli's Chief Assistant of Affairs," Reggie leaned against the wall, "His right hand man," he clarified while staring at the brunette.
Gavin's eyes rounded, "Fuck," he brought a hand to his forehead.
"W-what? What is it?" Reggie looked to the detective as worry spread across his face.
"No, i-it's nothing," Gavin shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he patted the blonde's shoulder. "I need to go talk with my colleague," the brunette expressed with kind eyes, "I know you must be hurting a lot right now but just try and take it easy."
"I can't," Reggie shook his head, "Garrett was the love of my life," he arched his brows as tears welled in his eyes. "How can I 'take it easy' knowing the fucker who did this is still out there?" he grit his teeth.
Gavin stared at the ground trying to gather his thoughts. "Look," he glanced at Reggie, "I'm not gonna pretend like I know what you're going through," the detective bluntly expressed, "And I'm not gonna try and comfort you because frankly, I'm not good it," he straightened himself out, "But I swear on my fucking life that I'll find the asshole responsible for this."
The blonde shut his eyes and let out a shaky breath before gazing at the brunette. "You were never good at expressing emotions," Reggie expressed with a small, faded smile, "Even back when we were kids."
"What can I say?" Gavin smirked, "It's part of my charm," he shrugged. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like you to leave for the night," he stated in a soft manner.
"What?" Reggie creased his brow, "No! I'm stayi—"
"You're not staying, Reggie," the brunette sternly expressed, "Go home and get some sleep. You look exhausted," the detective shot an empathetic look at the blonde.
"Hah," Reggie laughed, "You're the one to talk," he pointed at the brunette, "You have the worst dark circles I've ever seen. When was the last time you slept?"
"We can talk about our sleeping patterns another time," Gavin dismissed, "Just go home already," he shooed at the man.
The blonde wiped at his eyes once more before he slowly walked over to the door. He stopped as he reached the door frame and peered over his shoulder. "Fucking find him, Gavin," Reggie demanded with hollowed eyes. "Find him," he repeated, voice trembling.
The detective nodded as he watched the man exit the room. He bit at his lower lip, attempting to sort out the millions of thoughts circulating through his mind before he turned to look at Richard and Dion who had grown silent after watching Reggie leave the room.
"I should probably get going as well," Dion's gaze shifted from Richard to Gavin. "I have a group of androids scared to death in the lobby who have no idea what's going on," he sighed as he brought a hand to pinch the skin between his brows. "If you gentlemen need me, I'll be outside," Dion stated as he walked over to the door. "Eden is no stranger to the DPD," the redhead coldly expressed, "But we've rarely had murders," he peered over his shoulder, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have over a dozen androids to attend to."
Richard and Gavin quietly observed the manager exit the room; the door closed with a small, metal sound. The pair remained mute for a moment before the detective broke the silence.
"What did you learn from Dion?" he glanced at the machine.
"Dion was the one who originally discovered Garrett's body in the room," RK900 started, "He then immediately went to check the club's logbook but found no name under who rented Garrett out last," he brought a hand to his chin. "However, Dion said that Garrett was rented out at 5:43 pm for thirty minutes," Richard gestured, "And the reason he called the department two hours later was because he thought Garrett's client had extended their stay."
"Did he have anything else to say?" Gavin placed a hand on his hip as he was quickly running out of patience.
"That's all he knew," the machine expressed with a disappointed frown.
The detective shook his head, "Unbelievable."
"What about you?" Richard tried to change the subject, "Any luck?" he tilted his head to the side.
"The only notable thing I found out is something we've been speculating about for some time," Gavin eyed his counterpart.
"Oh?" Richard cocked a brow, "And what would that be?" he asked, curiosity evident in tone.
"You were right about the killer going up a hierarchical chain," the brunette stated grimly. "He's killing the androids of noteworthy supporters," he knit his brows.
RK900's eyes rounded before he lowered his lids. "Gavin," he whispered, "You do know what that means, don't you?" he asked, LED shifting to a hypnotic yellow.
The detective shut his eyes, "His end goal is Kamski."
The machine remained silent as he scanned his partner's distressed features. "It's likely that whoever we're looking for will be at his masquerade ball next week," Richard trailed off, "If that is the case, we don't have much time."
The detective looked to the ceiling as he drew in a breath. "You're probably right," he exhaled, turning towards the body, "Let's get to work, tin can. The clock's ticking."