Chapter Text
September 15th, 2039.
09:34:05 PM
It had been almost a whole year since the android revolution. They had won, and while the bills for their rights were still being passed through the judiciary system of the US, they were well-protected from the day-to-day violence and harassment they were prone to before. Assaulting an android was now equivalent to assaulting a human being. Fines were replaced with punishments of a higher degree and aggressors were penalized as heavily as they would be with a human victim. Hate crimes were common though, and some people were still insistent that machines’ lives would never equate to human lives; and the case that Detective Gavin Reed and his partner were assigned to was just that: a deliberate hate crime against a human-android couple.
It was raining when Gavin stepped out onto a concrete driveway of a suburban home. The detective and his android partner, RK900, arrived at the scene of a double homicide investigation. It was the fifth time this had happened in the span of three months: another case involving the murder of a ‘dream partner’ android and a human who lived together, ensuring the detective that this was the work of a serial killer. However, all the crime scenes were left without a shred of a clue as to who the culprit was, and the same went for this one. Even with RK900’s analytical skills, only a few things were certain- the size of the hand-shaped bruises around the victims’ necks and the trajectory of the victims’ stab wounds coming from a high angle all pointed towards the fact that the killer was an approximately six-foot-tall male. The body of the human victim was still warm and the thirium of the android victim hadn’t evaporated yet, so it was likely that the killer was still nearby, trying to get away or in hiding- but with no other evidence, Gavin, RK900, and the other officers on-site had to retreat and wait on information from the forensics lab.
As much as Gavin hated working with the impassive prick, RK900 had proven himself useful and valuable on the workforce (much to Gavin’s displeasure), not just through investigations but during actual dangerous situations with hostile criminals. Gavin didn’t have the authority to order him around anymore since they were partners- with equal rights and all- but he did have the absolute right to keep that gigantic tin can out of his private affairs by keeping their relationship strictly professional. He didn’t have to be agreeable to be a good partner.
“Alright, Nines. You head back to the car, I’ll catch up soon,” Gavin didn’t know what to call him since Hank’s android partner was already named ‘Connor’ and he figured it would confuse everyone if he went around calling RK900 ‘Connor’ as well. Since the android had never mentioned wanting to be called anything, even when prompted, Gavin settled on ‘Nines’, short for his model number, 900, which the android responded to- mostly.
The android didn’t move an inch, wordlessly insisting he stay nearby Gavin on-duty at all times. CyberLife had designed him to be an upgraded prototype of the previous RK800; faster, stronger, smarter and more resilient. He was programmed to be the most suitable partner for a detective: showing a cold front to gain admiration and respect from his peers but putting the safety and well-being of his partner first always, no matter the situation. He was made to be loyal, practical but also unforgiving and analytical. This meant that the methods he sometimes used to keep his partner safe weren’t always things his partner liked or wanted. Practicality was prioritized over morality, which is why he was the superior model to his predecessor.
“I said go! I’m just gonna do a routine survey of the house… Backyard, attic, basement,” Gavin spoke walking backwards to the house, facing RK900 as he spoke, “You know, the boring shit. I’ll be ten minutes, max. And if you’re not in the car by the time I get back, I’m leaving without you. I’ve done it before, haven’t I?”
RK900 stared at him blankly, stock-still, reviewing his options within nanoseconds. The rain was still pouring heavily, masking most sounds even with his boosted hearing functions. However, since the detective insisted that he was simply performing a cursory review of the scene, his safety was 81% guaranteed according to the statistics. There was likely no evidence left in the house and the rain was a nuisance to his vision. The best course of action would be to wait inside the car.
“Ten minutes,” Gavin said glancing back when he was at the front door. He laughed lightly as he turned away and stepped over the threshold, teasing the android, “You can come and teach me a lesson if I’m late.”
RK900’s LED blinked yellow for a moment. He started the countdown on his internal clock, walking back to the car.
---
Gavin had checked the backyard and the attic. No sign of a murder weapon, footprints they might’ve missed, not even one drop of blood on any surface. Only the basement remained and he ventured in with his flashlight when the lights refused to work. He walked in further, nothing out of place. Dusty as shit though and Gavin was about to sneeze when he heard a creak coming from behind him. He turned around immediately to locate the source.
“WHO’S THERE?!” he moved his flashlight araound, searching frantically and aiming with his 10mm pistol in his right hand, “DETROIT P.D., COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP, NOW!”
He could feel the sweat pooling at his back, his flashlight only shining on old furniture and coat racks covered in dusty white sheets, specks of fiber flying rapidly in the light of his torch.
He gasped when something solid came up right behind him, pressing onto his whole back and when he reflexively pushed his right elbow backwards to attack his assailant, the mysterious figure dodged and pulled his arm back, effectively disarming the gun. This guy knew what he was doing. Right as Gavin looked down to stomp on his foot, the man punched him in the head, stunning him and using the opportunity to pull the detective’s other arm back. He zip-tied both of Gavin’s wrists, holding them in one hand and quickly putting another hand up to Gavin’s neck where the blade of a knife was pressed right to his throat.
“Hello, little piggy. What’re you doin’ out here all alone? Your handsome plastic boyfriend leave you already?” the man whispered into Gavin’s ear and his voice was deep and coarse. It sounded like he was smiling but all Gavin could focus on was the throbbing of his head, he must’ve punched him with the hard, blunt end of the knife. Where the fuck was Nines? Hadn’t it been ten minutes already? Gavin couldn’t struggle in his position without getting his throat slit.
The man suddenly pushed him down with a hard kick to his back and straddled his waist as he rummaged through Gavin’s pockets. He must be looking for ID, Gavin thought. He wasn’t going to kill him now. It was too risky. The man knew that Nines was expecting him to return soon. He was going to come to him and kill him in his own house, just like the victim here. But fuck if Gavin was going to make it easy for him, there was no knife to his throat now.
He struggled anew, wriggling his body madly in an attempt to distract the man long enough for Nines to arrive or for him to just leave.
“GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, SHITHEAD. YOU’RE HEAVY AS FUCK. YOU GONNA KILL ME NOW? IS THAT IT??? HUH? CAN’T EVEN LOOK AT THE GUY YOU WANNA KILL? LOOK AT ME COWARD. C’MON, SHOW ME THAT UGLY MUG, YOU BASTARD!!”
“Shut up, android fucker!” the man pressed his hands into Gavin’s neck from behind, grating his face against the rough wooden floor. Gavin couldn’t even move his head to catch a glimpse.
“Maybe I should show you what a real man’s cock feels like for a change, huh?!” he inhaled along the line of Gavin’s neck before biting into it, drawing blood.
“Ha! You even smell like a bitch,” he said, groping Gavin’s ass roughly before pulling his wallet out, “Maybe we’ll have some fun together next time.”
It had definitely been ten minutes now, right? Gavin sighed before he felt an elbow jab hard into his spine. His face was pushed back into dusty floorboards again and he groaned at the thrum of pain in his nose and cheek as he felt the larger man’s hot breath on the back of his neck, it disgusted him in his already dizzy state.
“Well, what have we here…” Gavin felt the man’s fingers tightening in his hair, “Detective Gavin Reed, 37. Five foot nine. Blue eyes, brown hair…”
Gavin groaned in anger, struggling some more before his assailant continued, “Apartment 64, 35W on 35 West Grand River Avenue… Detroit, Michigan.”
“Guess I’ll be seein’ you,” the man snorted and moved off of Gavin, lifting his face up by his hair, “Can’t have you running around tryna catch me, can I, pretty boy?” Gavin could see the man was white underneath his black balaclava. He spat on the mask before the man punched him, leaving the wallet and ID behind and escaping out of the basement.
Gavin growled at nothing. His whole head felt like it weighed a ton. He was angry and frustrated and lightheaded and the zip ties were so tight he could barely feel his hands, “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!”
He sucked in a breath through his teeth and got up cautiously just as RK900’s broad figure walked in through the basement door, a dark shadow blacked out by the lights outside. Gavin leaned on a dirty couch and sighed in relief, “Finally…”
RK900 paused as he switched to night vision, locating Gavin and scanning him for injuries, “I’m here to teach you a lesson but I can see that someone else beat me to it.”
He detected traces of blood in the detective’s hair and face and his bottom lip was split. Up close he could see minor bruising and swelling starting to form in several areas, as well as a thin four-inch cut across the detective’s neck.
Gavin lifted his head, “He got away… And he knows where I live.”
The android’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he blinked pointedly. He could see that his reaction only aggravated the other man further.
“If that’s your way of saying ‘I told you so’ you can literally fuck off right now, I don’t need this shit,” Gavin stated before huffing and motioning to his tied arms, “But first, get these the fuck off me.”
“I only believe it would have been in your best interest if I had accompanied you, detective. But don’t worry, I won’t repeat the mistake of obeying you again,” the android replied, smiling at the slight frown between Gavin’s brows. He was slightly pouting. RK900 was satisfied in knowing that his partner realized he was right all along, even if Gavin didn’t want to admit it out loud.
He turned the smaller man around and procured a military-grade switchblade, cutting through the plastic in one go, “Did they not teach you how to break free of a zip-tie during your 11 years at the precinct, detective?”
Silence.
He picked up the gun, the flashlight and the wallet from the ground, “What about during your training period?”
Gavin pinned him with a glare, massaging the skin of his wrists.
He grinned slightly, “Never mind, just curious.”
When Gavin was able to stand, the android helped him up the stairs. He knew the detective must have been aching all over by the way he was biting back his groans and wincing every time his back shifted. He decided the best alternative would be picking the detective up and carrying him to the car. So, he did.
“You’re worse than Connor, you know that, right? It’s like your mission to make my life an embarrassing living hell since you came last year,” Gavin’s voice dropped towards the end.
The rain had stopped when they left the house. RK900 estimated it would make their journey much easier than planned since he was driving the car, due to Gavin’s current state.
“By helping you?” as he replied, he could feel the detective’s heart rate rising up. Humans were so easy to rile up.
“You call this shit helping?! You’re treating me like a little girl, picking me up like that! I’m capable of walking myself, y’know… I just got roughed up a little bit but I’m fine! Fuck’s sake…”
“It would be in your best interest to not attempt any sudden movements for the time being, detective. I’ll have to restrain you to prevent further injury if you do.”
He tightened his grip over the detective’s smaller body; a warning to behave.
Gavin shook his head, rubbing his palm over his forehead as he was carried bridal style to his own car.
“Might as well castrate me and put me in a dress while you’re at it…” he mumbled.
“Well, if you insist,” the android replied.
Gavin stared at him incredulous.
He smiled, “It was a joke, detective.”
“Jesus… A joke? More like verbal assault.”
“Verbal assault seems to be the underlying theme of all our conversations. I assumed you were fond of it.”
“Can it, toaster.”
RK900’s grin was smug all the way to the car.
After laying the detective in the backseat, he started the car, “We should head to the station, we must-”
“HELL no, we’re not.”
“-write our reports on the case and the assault, as well. We can use the first-aid kit at the station to patch you up.”
Gavin sighed wearily.
The android’s gray-blue eyes traveled from the quiet suburban inroad to the detective laying in the backseat looking disgruntled as ever. They both knew he couldn’t return to his own home until the serial killer was apprehended. Until then, RK900 knew he had to keep Gavin under a 24-hour protection program with at least one officer at hand if not himself. It was protocol when an officer’s life was being threatened and more importantly when that officer was his partner. He’d shoot an android or a human dead between the eyes before they even made a move to hurt the detective under his watch.
“You’ll get your rest soon, detective. I will acquire a paid leave from the station for us both. I’ll personally ensure no one disturbs you tomorrow, so that you can recover in safety.”
“And what the hell is ‘recover in safety’ supposed to mean exactly, tin can?”
“Resting at my apartment, of course. I hope you weren’t actually considering going back home, detective. That’s just a stupid move, even for you,” RK900 stated calmly.
“Hey, dipshit. It’s MY fucking house, if I wanna fucking go back there, I WILL. Fucking toaster. Mind your own damn business for once and leave me alone.”
“To do that would be to defy the very core of my programming. I can’t do that, detective. I must insist that you stay at my apartment. It’s safer and it’s on the other side of town. I can protect you at your home, but not as well as I could at mine.”
Gavin shot up in his seat, “And who the fuck said you were invited to my place, Nines? I don’t wanna see your miserable plastic ass on my front door- EVER. Understood?!”
RK900 stayed silent, not in tacit agreement, but rather in absolute and bold defiance. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that one way or another, he would protect Gavin and definitely keep a 24-hour watch on him. Whether Gavin liked it or not was irrelevant to the matter.
Upon arriving at the station, he killed the engine and stepped out of the vehicle, “I’ll do what I believe is in your best interest, detective.”
As he exited the car, RK900 offered to carry the detective again, only to be shot down with a slew of insults.
“Quit riding my dick with your dry ass and stop treating me like I’m your girlfriend, will you?! Jesus!” Gavin walked on ahead of the android even though the latter could tell it was painful for him, the detective’s biosignals spiking whenever he shifted too suddenly.
He walked at his own pace until he reached the doors of the empty station, playing with his coin on the way there. Human pride was a strange thing.