"I knew the peace wouldn't last," Reed sighed a few days later, quietly relieved they were dealing with an android homicide. The heat of summer had arrived in full force. Nines hadn't checked yet, but the area looked like it had been abandoned for at least a decade. The call had been anonymous; probably a group of kids looking for somewhere to party. It happened sometimes. They were in an old mechanic workshop. It was pretty much just a huge empty space with a couple of rotting work benches now, but there were bolts and attachments left behind where machinery had once been fixed to the walls and floors.
"This building has been deserted for some time…I believe this happened a long time ago." Nines roved his piercing gaze over the dim interior. Well, that's something at least…The AAL and the AHL had both been quiet since the shooting. The longer they stayed that way, the better. Just because this body is older than a few weeks, doesn't mean it isn't AAL related though. The group had been active for years at this point. There were likely dozens of bodies they hadn't found, from both before and after the revolution. Reed sighed as he looked at the body.
He wasn't sure whether it was because it had been left inactive for so long, or if the damage had caused it. Either way, the artificial skin had fully deactivated to leave the white and grey shell casing on display. He crouched beside the body, sharp eyes tracing the cracks littering the surface. There was no thirium. It was far too old for that. It was still there, but it was invisible. As he chanced touching the dirty cement, he couldn't even feel the oily patch that was usually left behind. There was a dry but slightly smooth texture that could have been the thirium, but Nines would have to confirm it. It was hard to make out the facial features through the spiderweb of cracks covering the side of its broken face. His face…flat chest, wide shoulders, muscular build…There was no genital component, but he was pretty sure it had been a male model. He couldn't find the serial number. It was probably lost somewhere in the shards of plastic littering the dirty floor.
"You alright? I mean, I know it's pretty…" Reed trailed off with a wave of his arm, gesturing towards the smashed up android. The body was still android shaped, but someone had certainly gone to town on it. It was the definition of overkill. It could have been discrimination, or it could have been personal. There was no way of knowing without more details. To his knowledge, there wasn't any gang active in this area, so that ruled that out. It seemed a little far out for the AAL, but they couldn't be discounted, not with the amount of hatred that had gone into the attack. Could it have been a crime of passion? Some sort of falling out?
"Excessive?" Nines finally joined him by the body, having circled and scanned the empty warehouse for clues. There were multiple footprints, but it was almost impossible to match them to any particular person or timeframe. They didn't even know who'd called it in. Some of the prints outside were fairly small, suggesting young teens had been in the area. There were thin tyre tracks from push bikes and less defined marks from skateboards. He'd noted a few soda cans left scattered around and fully intended to take samples later, but they likely belonged to the callers. Nothing of use had been left behind inside the warehouse. Whoever did it had likely worn gloves and disposable clothing, and taken the weapons with them, if it was recent enough to matter.
"Phck, you can say that again." Reed couldn't help wondering if there was anyone out there waiting for this guy. Nines reached out and ran his fingers over the damaged cranium, brow pinching a little as he rubbed his fingers on the shell. Reed watched as he licked his fingers, LED spinning yellow as he searched the serial number and checked the database for any missing person reports. It still amazed Reed how fast he did it. A couple of blinks later, and his LED returned to blue.
"His name was Ani Ling, an AL300 assisted living model. They are quite rare by android standards. He was an old model, even before the revolution," Nines reported as he scanned the shell. Reed nodded along as Nines spoke, not wanting to interrupt him as he worked. It was interesting to know, but was it relevant? Hard to say…It explained the lack of a genital component though. Older models wouldn't have them, and may not even have the compatibility to have them fitted. "He shut down approximately nine months ago." That still put it after the revolution, so it was definitely a homicide. It won't be easy to track down the killer after all this time though…CCTV would be useless. There were no cameras in the immediate vicinity, and those further out had probably recorded over the footage already.
"Any next of kin?" Reed asked as he got to his feet and rested a hand on his hip. He felt somewhat lost without his jacket, but it was far too hot to wear it. His favourite V-necks had even been abandoned in favour of a tight black T-shirt. He would have worn white, only he didn't really trust himself not to spill something or sweat through the material. At least the black would hide it a little. Nines' jaw tightened as he shook his head. There was something regretful lingering in his silvery eyes as he looked down at the busted shell. Broken and forgotten, with nobody looking for him…It was a sad thought. It made Reed think of Aaron and how no one had missed him. I would have missed him…If I hadn't found him that day, then I would have gone looking.
"I have alerted forensics and Jericho…In cases like these, it is common policy for the body to be released to Cyberlife Tower after the investigation." Nines got to his feet and gave the android a lingering gaze before stepping away to further examine the warehouse. It made sense. Even if the android was old, Jericho may find a use for his salvageable components. At the very least, they could recycle him with some form of dignity. Reed felt a little useless just standing around by the body, but he had little choice. There was so little he could pick up with his own limited vision.
"What about his memory core? I get that you can't probe a completely dead android, but do you think forensics will be able to salvage anything from it?" he asked thoughtfully as he turned to watch Nines stalk around the walls. He was running his eyes over every inch, particularly around any switches the assailant may have touched. It was a bit of an assumption, but android involvement was unlikely. The majority of android homicides were perpetrated by humans. His LED was circling yellow as he searched for lingering fingerprints and old thirium stains. The stains were harder to pick out after all this time, but they were still there. Faded smudges of blue.
"The cranial damage is extensive, and many of the internal components have been exposed…I didn't detect any damage to the memory core, however it's difficult to say whether it will work until forensics try running a current through it…I put the chances of success at around forty-three point seven percent." That was better than what he'd expected. By the webbing on the temple and the deep, cracked dent in the skull casing, he was surprised there was a chance at all. Though that probably depends how good the protective casing around the core is…An android's memory is pretty important, so the chips are probably pretty well protected. He wasn't even sure how big those chips were. He'd never actually seen one before. You could fit a terabyte onto a USB even back in the 2020s, so it stood to reason things would have been expanded upon by now. He found himself staring at Nines suddenly. What the hell does he even have in his head?
"Anything?"
"Nothing that will help us significantly…There are smears of thirium over the light switches, but no prints we can use to identify the perpetrator…" Nines replied as he returned to Reed's side, unaware of his curious gaze. "There is no electricity running through this building, but nine months ago…" Reed nodded his understanding as Nines shrugged. Nine months ago could have been a whole different story. The building had been out of use for years, but until they checked the grid, they wouldn't know for sure exactly when the electricity had been cut off.
They headed out front to wait for forensics and Nines circled the area looking for clues and further thirium trails. Reed chewed the inside of his mouth and tapped his foot. He didn't always crave cigarettes, but right now he could go for one. He was antsy and restless. Cases like this were the worst. It was pretty much cold, even now. The body had been lying there for nine months, and with no relatives, it would be pretty easy for it to end up in the unsolved pile. Fresh cases would come in. Cases with people looking for answers. Reed was so busy musing and twitching his fingers that he hadn't noticed Nines' approach.
"Open." The purr sounded barely a few inches from his ear. He didn't even think about it as he opened his mouth, green eyes widening in surprise as a toffee was pushed between his lips. He closed his lips around the finger, cleaning the tip with a kiss, before Nines drew back to run his thumb over them. "Good, Gavin," he praised as he put the wrapper back in his pocket with a satisfied smirk. Reed would have stammered in surprise if his mouth hadn't been so busy. He hadn't heard him move at all. He didn't know whether that was because he'd been distracted or if Nines had sneaked over on purpose. Either way, he no longer craved a cigarette. Nines let him move away with a sense of regret at the sound of a van approaching. Reed was always self-conscious and cautious when it came to their closeness in public, especially around work colleagues. The fraternisation code was a real inconvenience.
"Sergeant Reed! Nines! Good afternoon," Haley greeted cheerfully as she hopped out of the van. Well, that's different…Reed wasn't sure he'd ever seen her smile like that before. She seemed completely at ease; without a trace of the nerves she'd shown before. He hadn't met her since that time Nines let her see his memories. Did he say or show her something that made her more relaxed around me? Whatever the case, Reed couldn't help it as he smiled back and raised a hand in greeting while Nines called across his own. Brad, as usual, wasn't far behind as he stepped down and headed to the back of the van.
"Hey, we've got ourselves a cold case. AL300 android, shutdown nine months ago, pretty badly damaged and exposed to the air. Think you can work some magic on the memory core to get some files?" Reed asked as he watched the analysts getting ready. They were currently pulling thick plastic overalls over their regular office clothes. The overalls were pretty unpleasant to wear in transit, especially during the summer months. Brad was the one who answered, tugging his zipper in annoyance as it stuck.
"We won't be able to say until we see the damage, but we'll do our best." He sighed as he gave up and looked at Haley for help. Haley smiled patiently as she fiddled with the zipper, plucking the trapped material loose and pulling it up. Reed and Nines waited patiently in the doorway. Inside the warehouse was a little humid, but outside was scorching heat. It was better to hover in the shaded doorway to get the best of both. Or the worst of both…Haley went to the van for a few more storage boxes for the smaller components as Brad snapped pictures. It was delicate work, trying to the get the android ready for transport. His limbs were loose and falling apart, and his skull was at risk of disintegrating as they moved it. Larger parts were placed in the body bag. The right arm and left foot had fully detached during the move. Any remaining fragments were stored in the storage boxes, and Haley thoroughly scanned the ground to make sure they'd found everything.
"You get everything?" Reed asked as they finally started packing the van. Haley voiced her agreement as she passed by, LED spinning yellow as she cradled the plastic boxes against her chest. "Alright, get him taken care of and let me know what you find ASAP," Reed added as he lifted two of the boxes from her small arms and walked with her to the van. Brad was crouched inside, strapping the black bag down so it wouldn't roll anywhere. He paused as he heard Reed talking, frowning almost smugly as he turned his head.
"Sergeant Gavin Reed, well-known android hating asshole, finally treating android victims like real people. Truly, a day for the history books." Reed bit his tongue as he all but pouted at Brad. This was probably the first time he'd called an android he while talking to Brad. He let him have his moment and swallowed down his retort. "Hey, don't get the wrong idea! I'm proud of you," Brad insisted, though he certainly didn't lose his teasing tone. Reed grumbled under his breath before handing off the plastic boxes. Haley also had a small smile on her face as she handed her own box up to Brad and watched him strap it down with the others. Once they were done, they slipped out of their suits and tossed them in the back, ready to leave.
"Sergeant Reed!" Haley added as he turned away to head back to his car. Reed paused as he felt her hand on his bare arm. Her skin was just as soft and warm as any human. "Thank you." Reed had no idea what she was thanking him for as he paused awkwardly. He stammered a little as he waved it off and ran a hand through his hair. As usual, he was just doing his job. He still hadn't figured it out by the time he returned to Nines' side and waited for the van to leave, waving as Brad beeped the horn in farewell.
"The phck was that about?" he mumbled as he watched the van shrinking on the dusty road. He blinked as Nines' large hand rubbed his scalp in reward, feeling more confused. Nines looked amused as he drew back and opened the door. "What?" Reed pressed, shoulders raising quizzically as Nines ducked inside. He still didn't get it as he took the driver's side. Ahh, whatever! It probably wasn't important.