It was a year and a half before Rick was able to move out. Into a small home in a suburb just outside of the city.
In this time Rick had completed his therapy and Grant and Alex had gotten married. Rick had been the best man and was happy for his new friends.
The two men had become pals over the months, it was easy since Rick had no desire to go after Alex. Grant had taken a liking to Rick after he'd met him, even if he hadn't been the scientist's first choice, he was a well-liked man.
Rick trusted Grant, the man had helped salvage his life after all.
Penny was walking and saying a select few words. When Rick moved out Penny went with him as was Alex's original plan. Of course he had grown to love the child by now.
Alex had made sure the two were close, and she had enjoyed pulling the strings behind them. While she was sad to see them leave her mansion she also knew that it was time for things to move on.
Rick was glad to leave. He had liked the place well enough, but too much extra space made it feel just a tad too quiet and eerie.
Alex's younger sister Jessica staid with Penny during the day. She was well aware of her sister's experiments and was glad to watch the baby. Jessica worked as a licensed nanny so it was just like normal business for her.
She seemed to like Rick, perhaps a little more than he would have expected. But he didn't know if he was looking for anything beyond companionship. He just wasn't that suave when it came to women, not that he had no experience, just that he had made enough mistakes to have a reputation back home.
Not to mention Rick had just been dumped before his heroic actions in the Kansas City Airport. Though his memory was hazy, he knew it had hurt him deeply. It was possible he was a smidge gun-shy. So he didn't try to pursue anything more than a friendship with her.
For the most part Rick had made it under the radar. He didn't take the big cases alone, and he never made any dramatic arrests. Grant had complained that he was designed to be an indestructible hero, but Rick wasn't quite ready for any publicity.
Greg Tanner had other plans for the cyborg. The two were paired for a case. Rick managed to let Greg have all the power. He made the decisions, and Rick went along without a fight. But when the suspect took off Rick reacted in a heartbeat.
With his mechanical legs he caught up with the man in no time. Greg watched in surprise. Rick cuffed the man in a flash.
Once they had finished their reports Greg pulled Rick aside. "What was that?" His gruff voice was a low growl.
Rick shrugged. He didn't want to say anything that would piss off the other man.
"You trying to make me look like a fool?" Greg asked pushing against Rick's chest. When the intimidation tactic didn't force Rick to go backwards Greg took it as an insult. "Think you're tougher than me?" He asked.
"No." Rick replied. The screen in his vision was pinpointing Greg's weak spots.
TARGET ACQUIRED: LOWER ABDOMEN
SECONDARY TARGET: RIGHT SHOULDER
"I think I get it. You were waiting for the right moment to prove you're better than the rest of us!" Greg was glaring down at Rick. He had a few inches on him.
Rick almost decided to show Greg just a touch of the truth. But he wasn't prideful, so he sighed. "No Greg. I was doin' my job. I'm a cop jus like you."
"Yeah, well don't do anything unless I tell you to." Greg snarled.
"I don't take orders from you." Rick replied quietly. He was done with Greg and his macho man behavior.
"What?' Greg asked. He took a swing at Rick's head. But the smaller man deftly dodged the blow. Greg's fist punched through the drywall. Bits of plaster fell to the floor as the man grunted and yanked his hand free. Rick had already sidestepped the man and faced him from behind. Greg turned back to him and glared. "Only a coward would dodge a punch." Rick grimaced at that. He was trying to spare Greg some broken bones.
His HUD screen was going off like crazy and it almost distracted him. He kept one eye on Greg and focused on the scrolling information. He knew all of Greg's weak spots. Not to mention he had an incoming attack warning. This time he took it. He closed his eyes as Greg's fist smashed into his jaw.
There was a sickening snap of bones and a yowl of pain. Rick opened his eyes. Greg snatched his hand back and examined it. His index and middle fingers were already turning red and swollen. Rick felt a slight twinge of pain along his jaw.
"You should get those looked at." Rick suggested. He hoped the pain of a few broken fingers had killed Greg's anger. Nope. A booted foot swung up towards his gut. He jumped just out of reach and brought his hand down in a swipe that forced Greg's leg back to the ground.
Rick was trying not to kill the man. One wrong move and he would be admitting to a jury that he had accidentally killed a fellow police officer. That sure wasn't on his list of future accomplishments.
Holding the injured hand against his shoulder Greg tried for another punch, this time to Rick's gut. Rick blocked the coming hand and as a snap reaction made a chop at the base of Greg's neck.
The bigger man dropped to his knees in surprise. "How?" He asked. All he had seen was a few blurs here and there, and he hadn't lost a fight in years.
"I'm not as fragile as I look." Rick answered. "Now go get yourself taken care of. I suggest we both forget the incident ever happened." He wasn't in a mood to explain to the Sergeant how his jaw had broken another man's fingers.
Greg snorted in revulsion but nodded. Either he was going to agree or put a spin on the story. Either way, Rick was going to have to answer some questions he'd been avoiding.
To his horror, Greg blamed the entire incident on him. Rick came into the Sergeant's office ready to defend himself.
"So," Sergeant Hanson began, "What exactly went down last night?" Greg was in the office as well, his fingers set and his hand wrapped. His glare could have killed Rick if it were possible. Hanson's usually genial composure was dour. He loathed any internal trouble.
Rick had already made up his mind. He was going to give away his secret, to make sure the truth got out. He offered Hanson an SD card. "If you watch this, I won't have to answer a single question." Hanson and Greg looked at it in question.
Hanson took the chip and put into his computer tower. As the computer's auto play screen came up Greg made a gesture behind the Sergeant's back that made Rick only more resolved to finally coming clean.
Hanson opened the SD card's folder and scrolled through the files. "Which one?" He asked. Rick pointed to a video file that was simply labeled with the date of the previous night. Hanson double clicked on it and the three men watched the screen intently.
At first there was only blackness with Greg's menacing growl. "You trying to make me look like a fool?" The screen suddenly changed to show Greg shoving whoever was behind the camera. The screen was blemished by a dialogue box and several other digital information graphics. There was a small red flashing 'REC' at the top right and a blue targeting lock on Greg's stomach. In the dialogue box the text read 'WARNING! THREAT RECOGNIZED: Evasive Action Suggested.'
Hanson paused the video and looked at Rick. "Barnes, what is this?"
Rick swallowed a lump and looked the man square in the eyes. "That video was recorded during the fight. I activated it when Greg started to get violent."
"You dirty…" Greg began, but Hanson spoke faster.
"This so called video was taken at what, eye level?" Hanson asked. "There's no way you were wearing a camera on your head without Tanner knowing." Hanson was known for his observations. He'd calculated the view of the film faster than Rick had expected. And now that Hanson wasn't worrying about the fight he was suddenly interested in Rick.
Rick's cheeks began to get warm. "That's just it sir, I wasn't wearing a camera."
"Then how?" Hanson snapped. He sounded like he was suspecting the recording was a fake.
"I'll answer that question just as soon as officer Tanner leaves the room." Rick replied.
Greg was about to protest when Hanson nodded. "Tanner, out." He ordered. Greg walked towards the door. He gave Rick one final warning glare and then left. When the door was closed Hanson turned to Rick. "Ok Barnes, spill it."
"Sir, the camera is in my eye." The room went dead silent. Rick didn't know what else to say, and Hanson was at a loss for a response. He was staring at Rick like he was crazy.
"Please call the Police Chief and Dr. Grant and Dr. Lawrence." Rick whispered. Because of her title, Alex had kept her maiden name.
Hanson looked at him. Obviously he was trying to decide if Rick was being honest, or if perhaps the two officers were playing an elaborate prank. After a moment of thought he stifled a laugh. "You're serious?"
"I'm not lying." Rick replied calmly. He remained neutral despite how embarrassed he felt.
"I'll give them a call." Hanson sighed. He picked up the phone and dialed the Police Chief's number. Rick left the room. He didn't want to eavesdrop, and besides, he needed to make sure Greg wasn't terrorizing his desk.
His worries were confirmed when he found Greg upending the basket of incoming paperwork onto the floor. Rick sucked in an angry breath. This was no time for beating around the bush. "Hey!" Rick announced in a surprised tone. "What are you doing?"
Greg smiled. "Thought I'd do you a favor."
Other officers were starting to gather, even the suspects and victims in the room were watching. "Don't." Rick replied coolly. "Jus leave my desk alone."
Greg laughed. "You gonna boss me around now?"
"No. I'm warnin' you." Rick answered.
"What are you gonna do?" Greg jeered.
People were watching intently now. Either two officers were gonna have an old fashioned knock-down-drag-out-fight or a higher ranking officer was going to stop them before it happened.
Standing nearby the Deputy was watching, but he wanted to see what would happen between the two. Tanner could use some discipline, and Barnes seemed to know what he was doing.
"Cop Fight." Someone in the back of the room announced gleefully. Most likely it was a suspect that had been arrested and was still in the process of getting booked. A few people chuckled at this, but most frowned. A fight between fellow police officers usually resulted in low confidence from the citizens. And by the way a few were watching they were already beginning to lose faith in the precinct.
Greg stomped over to Rick. "You just try another stunt like last night." He growled. Rick shook his head as if he were pitying the other man.
"Listen Tanner, I ain't your enemy." Rick tried to be reasonable. As much as he wanted to punch Greg, he at least wanted to try negotiating. He didn't believe it would work, but then again, stranger things had happened in his life.
"The hell you aren't!" Greg roared. Wiping some stray saliva off his nose Rick put his right hand on Greg's shoulder and pushed. Greg stumbled backwards into the desks.
"That's disgustin'." Rick commented as he shook the spit off his fingers.
The Deputy stepped closer. He was intrigued by how Rick was handling himself, but he was worried that something would go wrong. Greg was a live wire, he'd had a few suspensions for police brutality in the past.
Greg came back with a mighty round house kick. To which Rick caught and sent back. Every move he made in a fight was precise. The HUD gave him every little detail and his reflexes were flawless. Greg hit the desks a second time. He stamped a foot.
Some of the officers were ushering the civilians out of the room. They were beginning to get scared.
Deputy Michaels stepped between the two men and spoke. "That's enough." His deep resonant voice carried to the farthest corners of the room. His aged face had a serious look but lacked the severity Hanson used. He ran a hand through his brown-grey hair and looked at the two in turn. "Sit down."
Rick pulled up a chair and sat. He wasn't about to start anything else. He was already getting a number of looks and stares, and nobody even knew anything yet.
Greg sat on the desk he was leaning against. His hair was mussed, but he was otherwise unharmed.
"Now whatever dispute you two have is going to end now. I'm going to separate you and you're both going to forget it." Michaels kept his voice clear and authoritative.
"He started it." Greg remarked.
"Are we in high school?" Michaels questioned. He nodded at the silence.
"Barnes is hiding something." Greg mumbled. The Deputy heard it and turned to Rick.
"Barnes, what is Sergeant Hanson doing right now?"
"He's calling the Police Chief." Rick replied. His throat felt tight. He couldn't say anything in front of all these people.
"Why?"
"To verify somethin'." Rick replied. "If you don't mind I'm sure he'd be willin' to tell you."
Greg snickered. Michaels seemed to think for a moment, "Tanner, in my office now. Barnes, you go back to Hanson's office. When he's off the phone tell him I'd like to have a word with him in private." Rick nodded and rose. He turned his back on Greg without a word and hurried out of the room.