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Chris, Tina, and Ben were lingering around Hank’s desk in a tense huddle. Gavin stood nearby, clearly part of the conversation but keeping his eyes trained on the hallway towards the evidence room. “He’s down there right now, doing fuck knows what, and could come back any second so we gotta get a plan together like yesterday.” His words came out in a low warning grumble.
Tina shook her head, barely acknowledging Gavin’s prompting. “I just… I didn’t think he was capable of…” She broke off with a small sigh and another shake of her head. Gavin scoffed at her, but Chris and Wilson didn’t take their eyes off Hank.
“You’re insane.” Chris eyed Hank. “No one can sneak up on the RK800. That’s like… one of his things.” The man waved his hand, looking agitated. “Proximity monitors or whatever.”
“It has to be me.” The older man’s voice sounded resigned but held firm. “I’ve gained his trust. His sensors won’t read me as a threat.”
“You’re too slow, old man!” Tina chimed, louder than everyone else. “Uh… Sir.” She added belatedly when those icy eyes landed on her.
“She’s got a point, Hank.” Ben took up her argument, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Even if you get close enough, if – when – he turns around swinging…” He shook his head, looking almost mournfully at his old friend. “You don’t stand a chance.”
Hank shook his head, squaring his shoulders stubbornly. “I know how he thinks. I know how he fights. I…” His hard expression wavered when he glanced towards the hallway but returned quickly. “It has to be me.”
Tina and Ben shared an apprehensive glance, but it was Chris who spoke. “Ok well… How do we even do this?” He clearly wasn’t happy with the plan, but it was all they had and time was running out. They couldn’t just let Connor come back into the bullpen. Not when he was… Like that.
Hank nodded at his team. “If I’m gonna get behind him, he needs to be distracted. Ideally by something that does read as a potential threat.” His gaze shifted across the people in front of him before settling on one face in particular. “And that means you.” He pointed at Gavin.
Gavin groaned loudly, finally taking his eyes off the hallway. “Aw, c’mooooon.” He protested but found no sympathy in those around him. “Yeah. Sure. Fine. Great.” He grumbled, throwing his arms into the air, looking thoroughly displeased and a touch betrayed. “I’ll distract the damn Terminator. Great. Fucking perfect. Y’know what? Fuck you guys.”
Hank didn’t acknowledge the complaints, returning his attention to the others. “You three gotta get back to work like nothin’s happenin. If you get twitchy, he’ll pick up on it and that’ll be the ball game.” He met each of their eyes in turn. “That means fidgeting, breathing rate, elevated heart rates, the whole she-bang. Got it?” They nodded, looking determined. “Dismissed.” They all shuffled back to their desks, focused on their task.
“He’s coming!” Officer Lewis hissed from his own desk where he’d been tasked to watch the cameras from the evidence room. From the way Chris jumped in his chair, Hank wasn’t sure they’d actually pull this off.
He spared a final glance for Gavin. “Don’t fuck this up.”
“Took the words right outta my mouth.” Gavin spat before returning to his own desk.
Hank took to shuffling papers around his workspace. He couldn’t sit – Connor would hear him get up. He just needed to wait until the android walked past him towards Gavin then he could make his move.
When Connor reappeared, he was luckily too preoccupied by the papers in his hands to notice Gavin’s grimace or the breath he took to steel himself.
“Hey! Detective Dipshit!”
Hank winced, realising that they’d made no plans on how Gavin was supposed to distract Connor. But hey, at least there was an excuse for any residual tension Connor might detect off the other officers. Besides, this bit seemed to come pretty naturally.
Slowly, Connor’s gaze lifted off the papers he was studying and settled on Gavin who, to his credit, didn’t react under the dark stare. “I’ve told you not to refer to me that way.” Connor answered in an unsettlingly controlled tone.
“Yeah well, just cuz you got a fancy name plate now doesn’t mean you’re not still a plastic prick.” Gavin shot back, seemingly undeterred. He was leaning against his desk, arms crossed, looking smug and superior. “Now c’mere. I need you to talk to your own kind.” He nodded at his computer. “Piece a shit’s acting up.”
Connor narrowed his eyes at Detective Reed. “The proper procedure would be to place a request with technical support.” He had come to a stop parallel with Hank’s desk meaning he was standing directly behind the Lieutenant. Hank couldn’t get a look at Connor but shot Gavin a ‘get a move on’ look.
“I don’t have all day, asshole.” Gavin doubled down. “Or do you wanna leave the bad guys on the streets while I wait for those idiots upstairs?” Committed to his task, he pushed off his desk and took up a more threatening stance, arms held loosely at his sides, fingers twitching towards fists.
Connor took a few steps forward, effectively moving him past Hank and putting his back to the Lieutenant. Hank swore he could feel the entire bullpen hold its breath. It was now or never. Hank straightened and took a few step forwards, putting Connor well within arm’s reach. He lunged forward, grabbing the android by the shoulders. “BAAHH!!” He shouted loudly before moving backwards as quickly as possible. He dodged to the left, correctly guessing that since Connor knew he was right-handed, his software would prompt him to swing with his left. Though Connor moved immediately into combat mode, Hank was convinced that the split second it took for the android to toss the pile of papers he was holding into the air – the only sign Hank had successfully scared him – was all that saved him from a metal haymaker collecting the side of his head. He backed up even further, hands raised in a sign of peace as his heart thumped against his chest. Every officer in the bullpen was on their feet, watching with wide eyes.
“Lieutenant! What are you doing! I could have killed you!” Connor’s eyes were wide as his conscious mind took over from his programming and he recognised his assailant. He lowered his hands and straightened out of his combat stance.
Hank waited.
Everyone waited.
The seconds ticked by.
“Oh, thank god.” Tina breathed, letting her head flop backwards.
“Honestly man,” Chris shook his head. “I didn’t even know androids could get the hiccups, but I couldn’t take one more minute of that shit.”
“You…plotted against me.” Connor narrowed his eyes, turning to assess his colleagues, identifying all guilty parties.
Hank couldn’t help but laugh at his look of betrayal and accusation. Yeah, they were all in trouble but at least they’d get some damn silence. He clapped Connor on the shoulder. “Too slow my ass.” He pointed at Tina who just smirked and raised her hands in surrender.