"I'd like to just reiterate that I think you're an idiot." Elijah frowned his disapproval as he pulled on a pair of blue surgical gloves. Reed scoffed as he whipped off his woollen top and tossed it on the padded surface of the worktable in Nines' workshop. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be in there, but as the most sterile part of the house, Nines had insisted it would be the most sanitary option. He probably should go to a proper doctor for this shit, but he was pretty sure Elijah knew what he was doing. He was working on androids all the time, and they were vaguely human shaped.
"I second that statement." Nines' stern agreement came from the closed door, where he was leaning against the frosted glass with his arms folded. He'd hated the idea from the start. Reed knew that, but he wasn't about to change his mind just because things might get a little dangerous. Hell, it isn't even a maybe. I'm definitely on the AHL's shit list. They'd released Fifty-Seven and VB almost two weeks ago, and the look VB had given him on the way out was all he needed to confirm his hunch. He was a marked man.
Since first suggesting the plan a few days ago, Hank had gotten in on it to help plan out the details. They'd found a member of the AAL. Someone Reed used to run with back in the day. Lawrence Ashton. He had quite a reputation with the AAL as one of the more violent members of the group. His page was littered with pictures of smashed up androids. Pictures he'd claimed were staged, of course. For legal reasons. He'd been pretty low down the chain back when Reed used to run with him. He'd been a follower. Pretty scrawny, smashing up androids to make himself feel better about life. He'd bulked up now, likely a mixture of unhealthy eating and steroids, and his temper had shot up with his size. He was the perfect candidate for the AHL to target.
With their man chosen, Reed just needed to come up with the perfect hook to lure in both Ashton and the AHL. Upon re-examining the victims and the footage, Reed thought he might have something. With each victim, there were particular little things missing. Physical things. Things you might not notice, or you could put down to having been lost during disposal. They were also possible trophies. One victim had always worn a watch, which Reed had noticed in the CCTV footage, but it had been missing from the body. Another had been missing an earring. Nothing special, just a plain sleeper. A small signet ring had been missing from their next victim, and their final victim had always worn a bandana. If they're taking trophies, it means they're keeping them somewhere…like a serial killer.
After finding a possible hook, Connor and Hank had stepped in to help. They had an official plan in mind. Reed had contacted Ashton to arrange a meeting. Ashton had been surprised to hear from him, especially after seeing the broadcast a few months back. He'd had him down as an android sympathiser now. Reed hadn't argued the point. The call wasn't about him. It was about the AHL. Ashton had been interested enough not to hang up straight away, at least. He'd heard of the AHL, but hadn't had a run in with them yet.
"Look, I'll level with you Lawrence. These guys are phcking bad. They've killed four of your boys so far, and as far as I can tell, you're next on their list…My co-workers don't know we're talking. They think we can catch them some other way since they've made a slip up, but I don't think so. I think we can use their mistake to our advantage by planting some bait, but I need your help, so…how about it? You want to get back at these guys?" Reed had chosen a quiet staircase inside the DPD for the call. It was a good spot because it was somewhere the android staff regularly took breaks. That they had a mole working for the DPD didn't surprise him. It hadn't been hard for Nines to track down AHL activities within the precinct. With the way some people treated the policing androids, it was really no surprise. He was pretty sure the stairwell was being monitored. Just in case it had been missed, Reed had been quite vocal in his faked argument with Nines about his plan and the evidence he was sure he'd found. He never said what it was out loud, and Nines had made sure his terminal was fully encrypted.
All he had to do once the mission started was meet Ashton. They'd chosen somewhere out of the way, on Ashton's turf. He was part of a small group of bikers who had a small-time protection gig going. Local businesses in their area would give them a small monthly fee for protection services. Not all of his group were in the AAL, but they all had their own vices. Gambling, alcohol, drugs, even a guy known for domestic violence. The gang took all sorts. Reed would turn up near the little place they had out on the edge of town. Ashton had agreed to come alone. He had no reason to doubt him. He hadn't been in trouble with the police directly for a while. Hopefully, once they arrived, the AHL would spring into action.
"It's a good plan!" Reed insisted in the present, shivering a little in the open space of Nines' workshop. The heating was on, but seeing all the glass walls and knowing how cold it was outside was making him feel a little chilly without his top on. Nines clicked his tongue in disapproval as Elijah sighed and rolled his eyes, holding up the scalpel he was about to use for emphasis.
"Yes, of course. Letting an untrained mechanic perform minor surgery on you is a great plan!" Reed huffed in amusement as he took a breath and tried his best to stay still. Nines seemed to have exactly the same opinion as Elijah, nodding along and frowning his disapproval while Reed sat defensively, waiting to start. He got the feeling that the only reason he hadn't been jabbed yet was because they were still hoping he'd change his mind.
"It's a subdermal implant! It hardly even counts as surgery. You said it yourself, it's a simple procedure. No muss-no fuss!" he retorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. Elijah sighed in defeat as he shared a look with Nines. It was true. He had said that, but performing the operation himself was somewhat unexpected. An android nurse from Cyberlife would have been a far better option, but they didn't know who they could trust. That was also why they'd done it outside of a hospital. A hospital visit would leave a trail, and if Reed was being watched, then very few places were safe. The penthouse, with its advanced security system, was one of those places, and it wasn't unheard of for Elijah to be in the hotel on business.
"The only reason I'm agreeing to this is because there's a risk you'll wind up getting abducted without a trace if I don't." Elijah was firm as he pulled out an alcohol wipe and looked for a decent place to start. It shouldn't be anywhere too obvious, or somewhere it could be damaged. He also had to be careful of anywhere containing major arteries and nerve endings. He didn't want to be responsible for permanently injuring, or even killing, his only brother. Eventually, he settled on reopening an old bullet wound in his shoulder. His clothing would cover any gauze and bandaging, and the hollow within was already an open space that he knew would be safe.
"Understood, now can you get the phck on with it?" Reed prompted with a smirk, waiting patiently as Elijah wiped the scarred skin. His jaw tightened as he raised the delicate silver blade and pressed it against the reddened flesh. Reed took a breath and nodded, gripping the edge of the table as Elijah's gaze dropped from his eyes to the round scar. He pushed down. Reed hissed and grunted as the blade sliced his skin, red trickling from the wound instantly. It hurt a lot more than he fucking thought it would. Jesus-phcking-Christ! Phck! He grunted and choked on a growl of objection as the knife slid a little deeper.
"Easy…" Elijah murmured as he used a set of delicate prongs to pick up the chip. It was almost flat, though slightly rounded at the back, where the small power converter sat. The chip was designed to run off the tiny electrical pluses that surged through the human body. It was a battery he'd designed quite a few years back, but he'd only completed within the past three or four. This was the first active model he'd produced. "Stay as still as you can," he added seriously as he placed a steadying hand on Reed's shoulder.
"Get-the-phck-on-with-it! Christ!" Reed grunted as he reached up and gripped Elijah's shoulder in return. Elijah nodded steadily as he licked his lips and pushed the small tongs into the wound, stretching the bleeding skin. The noise Reed let out made his stomach turn. It was a low, shuddering groan that made him sound like he was about to be sick or pass out. He let out a shaky, whining breath as he felt the delicate instruments moving beneath his skin. He fucking hated it. It was worse than when nurses fished out bullets. "Eli!" he snapped impatiently, a burning ache running through his shoulder.
"Hold on! Almost done, I'm just pulling out." Elijah remained calm and steady as he worked.
"Yeah, that's what they all say…Will-you-just phcking-hurry?" Reed quipped in a grumble, groaning and whining as the tongs opened wider before slowly withdrawing. Thick gauze was pressed down in an instant before Elijah returned with a needle and thread. The cut he'd made had been thin and straight, so it wouldn't need many. Considering he wasn't a doctor, and he seldom needed to work on android skin like this, Elijah was quick and neat as he stitched. "Phck, where did you learn to do that?" Reed asked as he looked at the neat stitching while Elijah cleaned the wound again.
"It was my mother's original hope that I'd go to medical school, so of course I paid attention during biology class. As it turned out, I was mostly picking up the anatomy to recreate it artificially." His mother had never truly cared about him beyond the way he fitted into her role as the perceived dutiful mother, but the idea of having a doctor in the family had somewhat pleased her. She hadn't truly accepted his career path until the money from Cyberlife came pouring in. Then she'd more than realised the benefit of all those robotics classes. Reed let out a sigh of something akin to relief as the wound was finally covered with a thick pad of gauze and taped in place. "It should settle within a few hours. It's quite a shallow wound." Elijah replaced the bloodied tools on the rolling table with a sigh.
"Halleluiah." Reed pulled on his top with a wince. It had felt a lot deeper with those fucking prongs inside. He shuddered a little as he realised he could feel the chip moving. Is it my imagination? It's probably my imagination…Phck, I hope it's my imagination. It was unsettling. "Well? Is it working?" he asked as he looked across at Nines, whose LED was currently spinning yellow. Judging by the soft, almost relieved look in his eyes, Reed assumed the answer was yes.
"It is." Nines brought up a small map of the apartment in his vision, looking at the little red blip marked in the centre of the small workshop. It was Reed. His lips quirked as he looked at the ID tag. Sergeant Reed, Gavin Alexander. The name was listed along with his heart rate, stress levels, and blood work. If someone took him, he would know. If someone hurt him, he would know. If someone dosed him with some form of drug, he would know. He would know, and he would hunt them down and crush them.
"No, I'm not keeping it," Reed warned with his own smirk of fondness, knowing all too well how Nines' mind worked. He does have a point though…Keeping the tracker after this mission would likely put Nines more at ease whenever they got separated, but he wasn't a fucking dog. He let Nines have enough of a reassurance by keeping his phone's GPS turned on for him to connect to, but having a fucking chip in his chest? That was a step too far.
"We can discuss it after the mission." Nines ignored his scoff of disbelief. It would be foolish to dismiss the idea out of hand with no discussion on the matter. Knowing his location at every moment of the day was extremely useful. Knowing his emotional state, even more so. He would be able to anticipate his moods and needs much more quickly and provide for his comfort. He could tell by Reed's expression that it was going to be an extremely hard sell, but he was confident in his abilities in the art of persuasion.
It was currently late afternoon, and once Nines and Elijah had cleaned up, it was agreed they would have a quick lunch in The Sky Restaurant with Chloe, who'd been visiting Roland. Once his brother and Chloe had gone home, they just had to wait for the evening. They'd worked a couple hours in the morning before heading back to meet Elijah under the guise of doing some work from home. Reed did happen to have a little paperwork to do, but it was nothing major. He was finished within an hour and then they were going over the final run through of their plan.
They were being overly cautious since they were working with androids, but Hank and Connor were already signed off as being on a sting operation. It had been listed as a drug bust, and they'd taken an unmarked car. Hank's was likely too well known. Once Reed was ready, at around seven o'clock, he'd leave the apartment and drive to the agreed spot out of town. Hank had already co-ordinated with SWAT. He and Connor would be on the outskirts, quite a way from where Reed would meet Ashton. A few men from SWAT had snuck out earlier to set up in sniper positions, monitoring the meeting point where they wouldn't be noticed. If things went south, they'd take out the AHL members before they could kill Reed and Ashton. They had their own trusted androids who'd scoped the area for any androids keeping watch. It had been clear upon their arrival.
Nines would sneak out later, disguised in the event they were being watched. He'd take a taxi into town and meet up with Tina and Miller's patrol car outside Jimmy's Bar. From there, Nines would direct them as he tracked Reed's location wirelessly. Connor and SWAT had also been given access to the tracker's frequency. The rest of SWAT were split in various vehicles, ready to follow at a distance should the kidnappers make a getaway.
Nines repeatedly assured himself that Reed was competent and that he had people watching his back, however parting had still been difficult. After the past few months of turmoil, he couldn't help but feel anxious. It wasn't just the androids he was concerned about. It seemed Reed shared some of his apprehension. Their parting embrace had been a lot tighter than usual, and as the elevator had gone down to the basement, Nines had detected a distinct spike in Reed's stress levels. His adrenaline had shot up. A fight-or-flight response. These were common when embarking on a possibly dangerous mission. Nines soon relaxed as he followed the little red blip on his internal map of the city.
