Sitting in Hank's office with a case file presented before him Connor studied the details with great interest and awaited his new orders. There was a string of deviants being jumped and abducted by unknown persons, only to return days later with vital biocomponents missing and drained nearly of all of their Thirium. All of the evidence collected pointed to a small group of black marketeers using 'chop-shop' techniques to steal the vital pieces of android anatomy to be sold illegally to collectors or to the rich humans who still illegally owned and abused androids. The abundance of abductions had been disconcerting to say the least, but with the increasing number of victims being discovered the deviant division was determined to end the assaults and find the perpetrators immediately.
Most of the victims had been treated at local facilities when it pertained to Thirium loss, while those who lost biocomponents - vital and non-vital, were taken to New Jericho Tower for emergency replacements. In turn the facilities and the tower were quickly running low on supplies.
"I hate to send you on this type of case." Hank apologized as Connor set the case file back down on his desk with a grimace. "But you're far more human than Jack, and you'll be able to infiltrate the group of human smugglers a lot easier and safer."
"I understand." Accepting his assignment Connor began asking for details on the case at hand. "Who will be monitoring my location?"
"Tonight it'll be Chris and Gavin. Remember; locate the hideout, chronicle evidence for cybernetic upload and get the hell out of there after you deliver the code word to Gavin. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Good. Now, go grab some Kevlar and get out to the docks. If our intel' is right there should be a meeting at nine o'clock tonight."
"I'm on it, Ha- Captain."
Smiling at the deviant's self correction Hank just shook his head and waved his left hand dismissively. "Go on. The sooner you bring those assholes down the sooner you can come back here where you belong."
"I will succeed."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." The confident reply wasn't at all unexpected. "You always do."
Donning his original disguise from the night he located Jericho during the night of the Raid and then the Revolution; dark leather jacket over a dark hoodie, black beanie, faded jeans and tan work boots, Connor was able to easily blend into the group of shifty looking humans without a second glance. A total of six people from all walks of life had gathered at the docks a few minutes before nine o'clock that night, which practically confirmed the supposed meeting taking place at that location on that night. The way everyone was keeping their head down and not looking one another in the eye was a telltale sign of criminal knowing not to ask too many questions and to mind their own business.
The humans didn't seem to notice Connor blending into the group as they waited for someone in particular to arrive and give them some details about the illegal work they were seeking. Whoever was in charge had yet to arrive, which would make gaining information on the scheme temporarily limiting for the undercover deviant.
Connor set up a constant live stream of what he was seeing via cybernetic link back to the precinct, as well as a small tablet in the squad car where Gavin and Chris were parked two blocks away in an unmarked car. Ensuring that his audio processors were synchronized as well Connor was able to provide a perfect link of communication between himself and his colleagues from the distance.
"This job better be worth it." One of the humans stated in a deep voice from behind Connor as he spoke to another human. "I gotta' pay my bookie."
"It's good work." A second human stated in a raspier voice as he pulled out his glass pipe and proceeded to light up a small rock of 'red ice'. "And if you play your cards right," pausing to cough out some of the acrid crimson smoke the man continued on in a slightly raspier tone as the drug was evidently damaging his vocal chords with each high. "you get a nice bonus on top of this good pay."
"What kind of bonus?"
The second human took in a second deep inhalation of the drug and let out with a shaky breath followed by a second throaty cough. "...Like, bustin' any undercover pigs or snooping pieces of plastic." A cloud of red smoke wafted around his head as it seeped through his horrendously damaged and somewhat blackened teeth. "You'll get a nice chunk of change for turning their sorry asses in."
"Have you found any?"
"Fuck yeah!" The high man boasted with a sinister and unappealing grin. "I can smell a pig ten miles away."
The first human noticed Connor casually standing up against a large wooden crate with his arms crossed over his chest and failed to recognize him in any manner. "How about you? What's your story, man? Some piece of plastic steal your job, too?"
"I could always use a little extra cash." Connor replied smoothly in a voice that was slightly deeper than his natural tone to ensure his identity remained as secretive as possible. "Where's the guy we're waiting for? I'd like to know exactly how much I'm getting paid before I waste my time."
"Relax." The second human, who was now very high - his mouth, nose and eyes were all red and bloodshot from the drug he had inhaled, seemed to be the second in command at the moment. "He'll be here. He's always here on time."
"Bullshit! It's past nine!" A third human spoke up angrily as he threw up his hands in frustration. "I'm fuckin' tired of waitin'! Where is he?"
"Nevermind that..." The high human coughed as he motioned to one of the other people who had been there long before Connor arrived. "Give me that beer and some of that pizza. I'm starvin'."
The person looked annoyed but did as he was told. "If you quit smokin' that shit every two minutes you wouldn't be cramming junk if your face all damn day long." As he handed the human his beer and pizza he motioned for the other people to help themselves. "Come on. Don't let this shit go to waste."
"What is this?" The first human almost laughed. "A goddamn slumber party?"
"Shut up! I can't get through these nights without something to eat!" The high human chuckled stupidly as he chugged half of his beer from the brown long-neck bottle. "Go on, help yourselves. Don't you dare go around saying I didn't treat ya' right!"
Reacting with a sense of inward dread at the idea of his cover being blown, Connor had no choice but to mirror the responses of the other humans to stay safe. Moving as naturally as possible Connor took one of the beers and opened the cap with a quick twist. Taking a sip of the beer Connor drank a small amount to avoid suspicion before picking up a slice of pizza as well.
Instinctively he ran a scan over the indigestible food to note the caloric intake, carbohydrates, sodium levels and dozen other factors regarding every ingredient that went into the creation of the pizza, and dismissed them all as he proceeded to take a small bite. Warnings popped up in his visual processors regarding the ill advised ingestion of the human food but again Connor dismissed them.
Keeping his cover safe was more important than anything else.
"Gross..." One of the humans complained as he tossed a pizza slice back into the box. "Why'd the fuck you put pineapples on this? Damn, those drugs must've rotted your tongue right out of your head or something!"
As much as Connor wanted to throw aside his own slice he knew it might draw some attention to himself. Forcing the pizza down into his artificial stomach the deviant chased it with the beer, knowing that the alcohol would dilute his Thirium levels, and hopefully it would be enough to keep his system from initiating an emergency expulsion program while in view of the other humans.
Almost twenty minutes passed and Connor remained quiet with his arms still crossed over his chest. Almost religiously Connor dismissed the warnings regarding the foreign matter that had collected in his artificial stomach and overrode the emergency expulsion program numerous times before finally disabling it entirely to keep his cover in check.
The other humans were growing impatient, some still eating more of the pizza and beer, others taking hits off the 'red ice' glass pipe and one began pacing around in angry frustration. It looked as though the entire night was going to prove to be a bust and Connor was worried he'd become violently ill if he were unable to get the foreign matter out of his system soon.
"It's getting cold," the first human complained. "where is this guy? Probably some punk wannabe-"
A fourth voice from another man approached the gathered group as he boomed out an intimidating warning. "Stop bitchin' before I kick your sorry ass. Don't forget you're working here for ME, on MY time."
Everyone fell dead silent at the threatening command.
The leader of the illegal ring had arrived and was a towering figure with a bald head, tattoos all over his arms and his neck, a scar over his left ear and a hollow stare. Approaching the gathered six "recruits" he gave them all impatient glances before he honed in on the high human and his lit pipe again.
"Hey, boss. We-"
"Put that shit out." Slapping the glass pipe from the man's shaking, scarred hands the leader grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up to his own face as the pipe shattered on the hard ground at his feet. "What the fuck did I tell you about smokin' that shit before a shipment?"
"...C-Can't help it!" The high man wheezed and coughed with a stupid grin that displayed his rotten, decaying black teeth. "I have a bad memory, you know?"
"Fuckin' junkie." Dropping the man at his feet the leader shook his head and pointed to a warehouse a few feet from the dock. "Get your ass in there and keep a look out for the cops. If you see something give the word."
As the high man scrambled away and locked himself inside the warehouse the leader returned his attention to his new recruits.
"All right, here's the deal. My name is 'Lazarus', that's all you need to know. You five are going to part out the androids kept in storage and you're going to do it right." Pointing to a small, unassuming cargo container just a few yards behind Connor the leader directed his recruits to their illegal assignment. "Every biocomponent needs to be handled carefully or it's worth NOTHING." Walking with a military-like presence Lazarus gave the five remaining people their orders for the night. "Get your asses in there and do things quick. No noise, no attention. I have a buyer in the area and I need to make a deposit tonight."
"Deposit?" The first guy asked as he stared at the small cargo container. "What kind of fuckin' deposit is that?"
"The best kind." Lazarus smirked as he rubbed this thumb against his fingertips indicating that big money was coming his way. "Once these chunks of plastic are over state lines they become Miami's problem. Not mine."
Connor performed a scan on the cargo container and found that there were nine abducted deviants being held captive inside. Sending the cybernetic signal to Gavin and Chris to let them know they were clear to converge on the scene Connor wisely backed away discreetly and ducked down behind other cargo containers out of sight.
"Gavin, go."
The sound of sirens and bright flashing lights filled the air eight squad cars and two dozen police drones surrounded the docks quickly. Gavin and Chris led the charge as the other responding officers joined in on arresting the humans and gathering evidence of their crimes. Discreetly Connor revealed himself to Chris and allowed the officer to 'arrest' him for the sake of keeping his cover intact and to keep suspicion away from him.
"Let's go." Chris stated loudly as Connor pretended to struggled against Chris with his cuffed hands behind his back. "You have the right-"
"I know my rights!" Connor shouted in the same disguised voice to keep up the facade and make everything look convincing. "I want a lawyer!"
"Yeah, you're gonna' need one, kid!"
"Fuck off!"
"Learn a new insult already, huh?"
As Chris 'threw' Connor into the backseat of the car Connor managed to slip his right hand free from the cuff behind back and put his hand to his abdomen as he dismissed the additional warnings about the foreign contamination in his artificial stomach. Taking a deep breath Connor did his best to steady his very humanly nauseated response to the unexpected meal and remain undercover without giving anything away.
"You good?" Chris asked as he opened the front door of the car and grabbed the radio to call in the successful bust. "You seem a little sick."
"Y-Yeah... I just need to expel a foreign contaminant from my system."
"If you puke in the back of the car Gavin's going to be pissed."
"I will refrain until we're back at the precinct."
"Hang in there, Lieutenant. We'll get you somewhere private without blowing your cover."
"...Thanks."
Glancing up and through the window beside him Connor watched as Lazarus, his junkie second in command and the other four men were arrested in sequence and loaded in the other cars. Beyond the arrested men Connor could also see the nine deviants who had been abducted throughout the city and breathed a sigh of relief.
"...At least the deviants are safe. That's all that matters."
Enduring all the necessary process to keep his undercover mission successful Connor paced about the holding cell next to the other arrested men with his right hand pressed to his stomach and a twinge of pain in his soulful brown eyes. As he paced he felt the eyes of the high man watching him nervously from the bench of the cell they were currently sharing. Connor just chalked the staring up to the man being paranoia from the 'red ice' he had inhaled earlier that hour and was now affecting his sense of reality. Being arrested and knowing that his big boss friend with all the connections was right next door was probably making his paranoia worse.
Unable to stop moving out of fear of his stomach rebelling on him Connor just kept pacing and hoped that Hank would move him out of the cell soon. If he got sick in front of the high man then the man would rat him out as the undercover officer who busted them down at the docks.
"S-S-Sit down!" The high man stammered in fear as he began rocking back and forth on the bench in the cell. "You're freakin' me out, man!"
Chris appeared in front of the cell and unlocked the electronic door. Pointing to Connor he gestured with a thumb over his right shoulder for the undercover detective to follow. "You're next, pal. Let's go."
"Where's my lawyer?" Connor asked sharply to remain in character as he stopped pacing and faced Chris directly. "I ain't saying anything without my lawyer!"
"He's waiting for you. Now, let's go. I'm not going to ask you again."
"I'm moving. Step aside."
"Whatever you say, 'princess'."
Moving sluggishly Connor stepped out of the cell, extended his hands outward so Chris could replace the cuffs around his wrists and then let Chris 'guide' him to one of the two interrogation rooms to get some privacy. Entering the room Connor sat down heavily at the table and looked at both Hank and Joel who were waiting for his arrival inside the private room.
"...Hi, Captain." Connor tried to greet with a faint smile but it was evident he was very uncomfortable and feeling sick. "Tonight was a success."
"Are you going to be okay?" Hank asked with a level tone of voice as he unlocked the cuffs around Connor's wrists. "You can't ingest anything but Thirium and a little bit of alcohol from time to time, right?"
"Correct." Slipping off his leather jacket Connor watched as Joel rolled up the sleeve of his oversized hoodie to get to bicep. "I can expel the contaminants later on, but until I will be feeling quite unwell."
Joel wrapped a Thirium pressure cuff around Connor's bicep and then checked Connor's pulse with his two fingertips against the side of the deviant's exposed wrist. "Thirium pressure and pulse are a little elevated, but that's common when an android overrides their own emergency programs."
Hank was still worried for his detective; worried for his son. "Connor, you look like you're in pain."
"I'm not." The deviant sighed in a weak voice. "Just uncomfortable."
"All right, this is what's going to happen. You're going to stay in here for a while so you can puke up all that shit without anyone seeing. And then you're going to 'faint' on your way back to the cell."
"Faint?"
"Yeah. That way we can get you out of here without any one of the other suspects thinking you ratted them out or worse, find out that you're a detective."
"Am I dismissed from the remainder of the investigation?"
"You were never going to keep going with it after you finished your undercover sting." Hank reminded the loyal deviant detective. "It's too dangerous and you know that."
Joel finished taking Connor's vitals and pulled a small transparent bottle of red tinted Thirium from his emergency satchel sitting on the table. "You're stable but I still need you to drink this."
"What is it?" Connor eyed the bottle curiously as Joel placed it on the table in front of him. "Medicine?"
"It's an android ipecac. It'll ensure your expulsion program removes every trace of the foreign matter from your system before it starts to rot or decay inside your body."
Connor's hand slowly reached up and grabbed on to the bottle and he gave the two humans a pleading stare. "...May I have some privacy?"
"Yeah, kid." Hank rose from the desk to give Connor some space as requested. "Wait about a half hour or something after you're sick, then let yourself out of interrogation. We'll get you out of here so you can stay sick at home out of sight."
Joel nodded, "It won't be pleasant, but you need to do this." and patted Connor's shoulder as he packed up his satchel left the red tinted medicine behind and returned to the bullpen behind Hank. "If you need help call for me."
Unscrewing the cap on the small bottle Connor reluctantly downed the red Thirium and grabbed onto the trashcan tucked in the corner of the interrogation room. Sitting in the corner of the room with the trashcan clutched in his hands and resting between his legs Connor noted the numerous warnings popping up in his visual processors and took a deep breath as the ipecac did its job.
Pathetically Connor bowed his head down and proceeded to expel all of the contaminants from his artificial stomach in rapid, violent retches into the trash can and was truly grateful no one was around to see him so sick and so weak in that moment. It didn't help that he tasted every molecule of what he had foolishly consumed lingering on his tongue.
"...P-Pizza is overrated."
Focusing on the arrested black marketeers Hank watched through the observation window as Lazarus was questioned by Gavin in a heated manner, while the lawyer that Connor had shouted about for the sake of keeping his cover sat quietly beside him. It had been almost an hour since the bust and Lazarus was proving to be as cold as he was cruel in the face of a life long prison sentence. Growing bored with the lack of progress in the interrogation Hank stepped out of the observation room and eyed the door to the second interrogation room just down the same corridor curiously. He had no idea how Connor was fairing and needed to check on his son in a discreet manner.
Leaning against the wall Hank pulled his phone from his pocket and saw that the half hour was up and Connor should be emerging from the room at any moment. Deciding to take the initiative Hank entered the room first with a swipe of his keycard and saw Connor was still leaning his back up against the corner of the room sitting on the floor.
"Damn, kid. You look like you just went through a fraternity hazing."
Keeping his eyes closed Connor responded to the comment in a dreary, sluggish tone. "...I presume a majority of fraternity hazings revolve around alcohol and unhealthy food."
"You got it." Walking into the room Hank offered Connor his hand, which the deviant accepted with a shaking grip, and pulled Connor up to his feet. "The good news is you won't need to do anymore acting. Just let me lead you back to the cell and then you 'faint'. Joel and one of his college interns are going to go along with it and get you out of the precinct."
"...I cannot drive home." Handing Hank his car keys Connor admitted he felt too terrible to drive. "I don't feel well enough to concentrate on the road."
"You'll take a cab home then." Slipping the handcuffs around Connor's wrists again Hank proceeded to 'escort' him out of interrogation back to the holding cells as he pocketed the offered car keys. "I'll bring in the Corvette when I come home a few hours from now. The Oldsmobile will be fine here overnight."
"That sounds reasonable."
As Hank directed Connor back to the cells to keep up the facade for a moment longer, the Captain prepared to unlock the cell just as Connor let out a deep sigh and let his legs buckle to collapse backward on the floor in a convincing faint. Crouching down beside Connor where he laid Hank did the expected pulse check and shouted for the station 'medics' - Joel and his intern, to come over and take care of Connor so the ill deviant could get out of the precinct safely.
The high man in the cell began freaking out more as he watched Connor 'pass out' and get swarmed by medics. "Oh man, oh man, oh man..."
Hank noticed the high man and decided to have a little fun while Joel and his intern pretended to give Connor an emergency medical exam. "What's the matter? Scared?"
"I-I-Is he dead?!"
"Not yet." Leaning closer to the transparent wall he gave the high man a twisted grin. "But that's what happens when you mix alcohol with 'red ice'."
The high man's already wide eyes went wider with paranoid fear at Hank's words. "Wh-What's happening to him?!"
"The alcohol and the 'red ice' are mixing inside his guts and right now his stomach is melting."
"M-M-MELTING?!" The high man began freaking out louder and pulling at his thin, dying brown hair with both hands. "NO. NO. NO. NO. NO."
Crossing his arms over his chest Hank remained planted in front of the cell, amused at the high man's reaction, while also keeping the focus away from Connor for the time being. The high man was proving more interesting for curious eyes than a passed out man on the bullpen floor, much to Hank's delight.
Joel glanced at the high man and shook his head a little as he and his intern, Dr. Lily Banner, placed Connor on a stretcher and carried him out of the bullpen and into the breakroom out of sight so Connor could take his leave of the precinct discreetly through the backdoor. Once outside Connor hailed the autonomous taxi through a cybernetic request and waited for his ride.
"Man, if you ever needed a poster boy for why you don't do drugs, that guy is the winner." Joel joked as he and Lily stayed with Connor outside until the autonomous cab arrived. Keeping up the sarcastic remarks Joel just shook his head and gave the college intern an almost paternal stare as he tried to emphasize how much of a waste it was to do something as stupid as drugs. "Who knew all those warnings about drugs were so valid?"
"Y-Yeah." The college kid admitted in a somber voice as she looked about the opened back parking lot of the precinct nervously. "I get it now..."
The cab pulled up and Joel helped Connor to climb inside the back. "You'll be fine by morning. Just let yourself be sick if you need to and then get some rest."
"I think I'll be able to manage that." Connor sighed as he slumped in his seat with his hand placed protectively over his stomach. "...Unfortunately."
The ride back to the house was swift, smooth and without any incident. Thankfully traffic was light as well and gave Connor easy passage back home. Stumbling out of the autonomous cab with his right arm wrapped around his aching stomach, Connor gracelessly made his way up the front walk and practically fell against the front door as he fumbled to get the spare key hidden behind the doorbell to unlock the door. Once inside the safety of the house Connor was promptly greeted by Sumo who barked once and stood up on his hind legs to put his front paws on Connor's shoulders as he licked Connor's face to get some affectionate attention from his master.
"...Down boy."
Connor softly commanded in a tired voice as he gently pushed the massive dog back down to the floor.
"I'll play with you later."
Scratching at Sumo's ears lightly Connor closed the door behind him and made his way down the hallway and into his bedroom. Removing his unusually heavy attire Connor was happy to change into his lighter weight night clothes; gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt, and fall backward onto his bed in exhaustion.
His stomach was still bothering him as the violent bout of sickness he had been forced to endure at the precinct had left his entire abdomen sore and feeling like a massive bruise. The physical exertion of throwing-up had drained all of his energy that was already dwindling because of his system having a negative reaction to the contaminants he knowingly ingested.
Tucking his left arm under his head Connor closed his eyes and draped his right arm over his aching abdomen to rest. As he began to think about the night's unusual case and the deviants that he had managed to rescue, more questions than answers began to plague the dedicated detective.
Why were the android parts being shipped to Miami? Who was the buyer that Lazarus had been connected to? What was so important about shipping the stolen parts out tonight?
Steadily Connor began to slip into rest mode when a strange cramp tightened in his artificial stomach as a sickening sound, something like a gurgle, erupted from his physically strained abdomen. Sitting up slowly Connor realized he was going to be sick again and made a clumsy dash through his bedroom door to reach the bathroom.
Falling to his knees Connor threw-up into the toilet and felt the cramp in his stomach tighten again as he continued to expel every small item that was still inside his fatigued stomach in a painful retch.
Sumo joined Connor in the bathroom and laid down on the floor while Connor continued to vomit and spit the vile contents out of his mouth into the bowl.
"...Fuck."
Swearing to himself Connor fell back onto his left hip and dragged the back of his right arm over his mouth and chin.
Just as Connor caught his breath the same tight cramp hit stomach for a second time and he immediately began throwing-up again. As the deviant continued to be sick with a violent reaction, his pained groans escaping his lips between bouts of vomiting, Sumo moved a little closer to Connor and whined sympathetically for the ill deviant.
Putting his shaking hand on Sumo's back Connor kept his palm there and spit out the foul contents still inside his mouth as he knew that his sickness wasn't quite over yet.
"...I'm okay. I just need a moment."
It took Hank just over four hours to get back to the house after dealing with the prolonged interrogations of the five total humans who had been arrested for the illegal smuggling ring regarding abducted deviants. In that time he lost virtually all of his patience and was more than ready for bed as the entire night was as exhausting as it was infuriating. As he wandered into the house through the backdoor to keep noise to a minimum, Hank tossed the keys to the Corvette down onto the kitchen table before shrugging off his coat to drape over the back of the kitchen chair. Removing his shoes to leave by the backdoor Hank took a look around and didn't see Connor anywhere.
Peering inside the livingroom for a closer look Hank saw that Connor wasn't laying on the couch and assumed he had gone to bed. As he ventured down the short hallway he caught sight of the bathroom light on and heard Sumo whimpering.
"Connor?" Entering the bathroom Hank saw Connor collapsed on his right side in the middle of the bathroom floor. He had his arms wrapped around his stomach and he was visibly trembling. "Ah, shit. Connor."
Brown irises found their way to Hank's face as the senior detective knelt over the downed deviant to check on him. "...I'm okay."
"Bullshit. No one who's really 'okay' sleeps in the middle of the fuckin' bathroom floor."
"I'm no longer sick." Connor explained in a low voice as he felt Hank's hand press against his forehead for a mandatory fever check. Grabbing onto Hank's forearm in a strong grip with his own hand Connor reassured him that he was conscious, coherent and healing. "But I didn't have the strength to get back up."
"Yeah, I can't imagine why." The senior detective's sarcasm was actually appreciated at the moment. "You only threw-up half your body weight and ingested what equates to poison for you." After his quip Hank retracted his hand and stood upright slowly, careful to not accidentally step on Connor or Sumo as he slipped a washcloth under the warm tap in the sink. "At least you're not overheating. How much Thirium did you lose?"
"I'm down to seventy-one percent."
"Okay, so that's not too bad. But I want you to drink-"
"No." Connor sighed as rolled from his side and onto his back just as Hank used the washcloth to wipe away the remaining purple stains of vomit from around his mouth and chin. The red Thirium mixing with his blue Thirium resulted in purple colored vomit. "Though I'm no longer sick I cannot ingest anything further without it causing another emergency expulsion."
"Oh, great. When can you have more Thirium without it making you sick?"
"By morning. I'll just need to initiate a self diagnostic and allow my self healing program to run during the night to correct the initiation of the program."
"Self-healing program? What'd you break?"
"Nothing. It will merely aid the discomfort in my stomach."
"All right, come on." Grabbing onto Connor's bicep Hank pulled the deviant up slowly from the ground and to his feet. Pressing his other hand to Connor's opposite arm Hank helped Connor to regain his balance as he wavered on his feet before helping the deviant walk to his bedroom across the from the bathroom. "You need to sleep in your bed, not on the floor."
"I can walk."
"Not very well." Hank snarked as he felt Connor stumbling and fighting to remain upright. "You might have to crawl."
"Going from horizontal to vertical has upset my stomach again." Pressing his free hand protectively to his abdomen Connor let out a slow breath. "I just need a moment."
"Come on. You need to get some sleep." Leading the deviant over to the bed Hank laid him down and Connor readily fell back against the soft mattress and pillow. "Good news is, that undercover sting was a success. We saved all those deviants and managed to get enough evidence to lock up over two dozen black marketeers throughout the city."
"How did you locate so many so quickly?"
"That Lazarus jackass is a huge sellout."
"Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh'. It made Gavin happy, too. You did good tonight, kid."
"I don't feel that good about it."
"Yeah, well, you did puke like a freshman." The senior detective stated almost matter-of-factly. "I remember what that's like, so yeah, I get why you feel like shit."
"Interesting."
"Whatever you're thinking about saying, don't say it. I'm too tired to deal with any smartass remarks right now."
"Shall I wait for morning again?"
"What did I just say?"
Connor managed a weak grin before he let out an equally weak sigh. "Do we know why the stolen android parts were being shipped to Miami?"
"Not yet. Lazarus is a sellout, but he wouldn't give up on details on who his buyer was or where they are."
"We need to figure out what's going on in Miami."
"I know that, son. We will."
"Will we do it in time?"
"I wish I could say for certain. But we won't let these sick fucks tearing apart androids get away from the law." Letting out a tired sigh of his own Hank patted Connor's knee before he made his way around the foot of the bed to get to the door. Sumo padded out of the bathroom and sat outside the door and looked at Hank as if waiting for an invitation. "Go on, Sumo. You're not sleeping in the bathroom, either."
The massive dog trotted into the bedroom and jumped up onto the foot of Connor's bed to get some sleep just as the deviant began to fall into rest mode. Snuggling up next to Connor's legs Sumo let out a big yawn and rested his chin down over top his outstretched front paws.
"I'm going to bed, too." Hank stated from the opened doorway with a sleepy yawn. "And you're staying in bed. But if you feel like you're going to be sick again tell me. I don't want to find you passed out on the bathroom floor or crawling in the hallway again."
Connor gave his father an appreciative smirk as he waited for his stomach to settle before entering rest mode. "I will do so if necessary, I swear it."
"Good. Now, get some sleep."
"Thank you for trusting me to do this undercover mission. I'm glad I was able to help."
"I've trusted you since the day you pulled my sorry ass back onto that apartment roof and saved my life." The senior detective replied with a somber shock to his voice as he stopped in the doorway. "It's the rest of the world I don't trust."
"After tonight I'm beginning to understand why."
"Yeah, but don't let it make you cynical." Hank replied sharply as he gave the deviant cautionary advice from where he stood. "You're too young and still learning. Don't have such a dark outlook on life like the way I did."
"I'll remember that."
"You better." Hank turned off the light in the bedroom and quietly took his leave so Connor could get some rest. "Goodnight, son."
Oddly content with the night turned out Connor closed his eyes and prepared to enter his healing rest mode for the night. "Goodnight, dad. Tomorrow I'll look more into Miami and what illegal operation is taking place in the city."
"I'm not surprised, kid."
-next chapter-
