Chapter Text
“Just…tell her she has a nice rack or something.”
“Jesus, Chen. I’m trying to get a DNA sample, not get kicked in the nards here. How are you even married?’
“I ask myself that every morning.”
Nines looked over at Tina as she placed her hands on the steering wheel to Gavin’s car before letting out a nervous, breathy sigh.
He waited a beat before speaking, knowing Gavin would hear him through their ear pieces. His CPU had dug into as much social media information as he could find on their suspect. “She has a tattoo on the back of her upper right shoulder of the Chinese zodiac symbol for Tiger. You can start with that.”
Gavin, in the bar across the street from where Nines and Tina sat in his car, said, “Thanks Nines. See Tina? Even the Tin-Man knows the way to a woman’s heart.”
“Or into her cut off daisy-dukes,” Tina muttered.
Gavin scoffed before saying. “Settle down there, Chen. Okay, I’m going radio silent. I’ll tag back in if I need you guys.”
When Gavin’s ear piece went silent, Tina leaned her head back against the head-rest and turned to Nines. “I can’t believe I’m going to blow my first real case.”
“You’re doing fine,” Nines said, and placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder. “You’ve only just made detective, you’re not supposed to know every little thing yet. It will take time.”
“I think it’s the plain-clothes,” Tina said, tugging at her crisp navy-blue button down shirt. “I was never this unsure when I wore the uniform. Now that I don’t have my badge on display, I feel like I’ve got to work twice as hard to get people to respect me.”
“Well, if anyone tries anything disrespectful, you’re well-trained in how to make them see the error of their ways.” Nines smiled when he saw Tina relax a bit at his words, then turned back towards the bar.
Gavin was inside, assigned by Tina to retrieve some kind of DNA sample they needed to connect their suspect, Tracie, to a crime scene. Nines and Tina were working surveillance and backup outside, watching the dive, aptly named “Dirty Dicks & Dames”, where Tracie tended bar nights and weekends.
“I appreciate you and Gavin helping me with this case,” Tina said. “I’m sorry to put you in this position, though. I just couldn’t think of any other way to get Tracie alone.”
Nines blinked, surprised, and turned back to Tina. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I have completed over 34 stake-outs during my partnership with Gavin. And Gavin has occasionally worked under-cover before. Both of these situations are very common for us.”
“Oh,” Tina began, “No. No, I mean, asking Gavin to get…close to Tracie to get that sample. I know you and he are, you know, a thing…”
Nines pressed his lips together and looked again towards the bar. He waited a moment before speaking. He wasn’t used to talking about his relationship with anyone besides Gavin, and even Gavin didn’t often like analyzing it too hard. Nines honestly hadn’t thought twice about Gavin being put in a position where he was to possibly flirt with a woman, and Gavin must not have been bothered either, since he hadn’t said anything to Nines about it.
“This as well, Tina, you have no need to apologize for. I know, whatever Gavin is doing, he’s doing only for the case.” He paused again and looked back at her. “I am not bothered at all.”
“Do you want to see what he’s doing?” Tina suddenly asked and twisted behind her to grab her bag. She dug around in it for a moment before pulling out her tablet. “You can connect to their security footage, right? There should be a camera placed directly over the bar, which is where Gavin should also be.”
Nines hesitated. “I-I’m not sure-”
“I should have thought of this sooner. It’s better to have eyes on the situation just in case something goes wrong, right?” Tina said, quickly typing away onto the tablet before handing it to Nines. He took it, but still hesitated. Tina placed her palms together as if in prayer. “Please, Nines?”
Nines scoffed. “As I had said, Gavin has been undercover before. He knows what he is doing-“
“But I don’t,” Tina countered. “So be a pal. Please?”
Nines shook his head, but reluctantly relented. He connected to the tablet, and used his Detroit PD security codes to authorize a hacking program that got him quick access to the security footage without being detected. It wasn’t the most state-of-the-art security setup around, but it could handle multiple vantage points in the rooms, so it took a few tries before Nines found the bar.
“There he is!” Tina said and pointed to the screen. In a bar stool at the far end of the bar, Gavin was discernable by his black leather jacket, sans-grey hoodie. He had dressed up in a nice pair of jeans, solid leather boots, and an enticingly dark form-fitted t-shirt under his jacket. They could see he was nursing a beer, but they were too far away to see its brand. Tracie, their suspect, was already animatedly chatting away with him as she poured a draft.
“He’s already made contact,” Tina commented. “That was fast.”
Nines said nothing, but he wasn’t surprised. Gavin was most assuredly an attractive man, and though Gavin didn’t love pulling that particular card, in the past he had occasionally utilized his looks to manipulate aspects of a case in their favor. He wasn’t above some sweet words and a well-placed wink with those stunning green eyes, and Nines had no doubt he was working those same charms on Tracie.
The image was clear enough that they could see Gavin happily chatting back, his posture relaxed and friendly. Whenever Tracie moved to help another patron, Gavin would say something that caused her to soon come back, often with a fresh beer or an obviously flirty comment. Once, when she was busy with a large group of newcomers for almost ten full minutes, Gavin slid off his jacket, showing off how he looked in his t-shirt, and said something with a sly smile that caused Tracie to nearly drop the pint in her hands.
“He’s got her hooked,” Tina said after that display. “Now he’s got to reel her in.”
“I’m sure he has some play worked out,” Nines muttered, his eyes glued onto Gavin. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his partner like this. Aloof, flirtatious, seemingly at ease with himself and the world. Nines almost felt like he was looking at a completely different person.
Nines knew that he alone was privy to a more private, intimate side to who Gavin truly was when they were alone, but Gavin did also have a playful, albeit snarky, side to himself that came out occasionally. He knew that Gavin was putting on a show for Tracie, but it was, admittedly, a damn good one.
After a few more minutes of waiting, a new waitress came into the bar, taking over for Tracie. Tracie took off her apron, poured herself a beer from a fridge under the bar into a pint glass, and walked up to Gavin. She slid her arms around his shoulders, talking into his ear.
Gavin smiled, and welcomed her embrace, sliding an arm around her waist, pulling her in even closer.
Nines wasn’t expecting this, and he must have made a sound or an unexpected movement, because Tina suddenly had an arm on his shoulder, saying, “Shit. Shit, Nines. I’m sorry. We shouldn’t be watching this, this was stupid. We can turn it off-”
“No,” Nines said, shaking his head, though he didn’t look at Tina. He couldn’t look away. “I’m fine. Really.”
“If you’re sure,” Tina said haltingly.
Nines nodded, and in a voice that sounded less sure than he wanted it to, replied. “Of course. Like I said, this is all just for the case.”
Tina made a noise like she didn’t believe him, but didn’t push again.
They watched as Gavin said something back to Tracie, causing her to laugh, then pull himself up and off the bar stool. Taking her hand, he led her to the opposite end of the bar where a dart board was set up.
“He is not going to do what I think he’s going to do,” Tina said.
“Can Gavin even play darts?” Nines asked.
Tina raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t know? He’s like insanely good at darts.”
“I-I didn’t know that,” Nines said softly. He suddenly felt like the car was too small for him, and the tablet felt like lead in his hands. He tried to remember the last time he recharged or had any thirium, but he couldn’t focus on anything else besides what Gain was doing.
He watched Gavin pull the darts out of the board, then walk back to where Tracie was waiting for him. He gave Tracie his beer to hold, and then lined himself up. For the next twenty minutes Tina and Nines watched as Tracie and Gavin played darts. Tracie was either a poor player, or was pretending to be, because Gavin would step up close behind her, show her how to line up the shot, and laugh and flirt all the while.
It took a short while longer, but eventually Tracie leaned in close, whispered something into Gavin’s ear, and then started walking off. Gavin watched her head towards the restroom, and when the door shut, he quickly but casually used his leather jacket to cover the pint Tracie had been sipping from, and start heading towards the front door.
“Holy shit he got it!” Tina exclaimed and spun in her seat to turn on the car.
Nines shut off the tablet and slowly placed it in his lap. His mind was processing a hundred different influxes of new information at once, but his eyes were focused on the front door of the bar.
Moments later Gavin walked out, his jacket carefully tucked under his arm. He walked like he hadn’t a worry in the world, but his stride was purposeful and steady.
When he reached the car he opened the back door and slid in, holding out the pint glass towards Tina.
“You are the absolute best, most amazing person ever!” Tina exclaimed. She had an evidence bag open for Gavin to drop the glass inside.
“You owe me one, Chen.” Gavin grumbled and sat back in the seat, buckling himself in. “Those beers were way too expensive for that shit-hole.”
“Hey. I do owe you one Gavin,” Tina began as she put the car in drive and began heading out of the parking lot. “But spare me the drama. You probably had the easiest undercover experience in the history of undercover.”
“Oh yeah?” Gavin asked. “What makes you so sure?”
“We were spying on you,” Tina said with a bright smile. She grabbed the tablet from Nines’ hands and tossed it towards Gavin, who caught it with a frown. “Pop that back into my bag will you?”
“Spying? What? Why?” Gavin snapped.
“Okay, not so much spying. But just keeping an eye out by watching through the bar’s security cameras. It’s my first stake-out as a detective, I wanted to have all the angles covered.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Gavin muttered, clearly annoyed. “I knew what I was doing.”
“I know,” Tina said and shrugged casually. “But it was fun to watch. Your dart skills are getting a little rusty, though. We’ll have to have you practice some more.”
“Screw you,” Gavin said and tiredly raised the palms of his hands up to his eyes before he yawned loudly. “This girl had better be your murderer, Tina. I’m not pimping myself out to every blond in Detroit who fits the description of your suspect.”
“It’s her,” Tina said. “I know it in my gut.”
“Your gut. Just what the jury wants to hear,” Gavin muttered. He paused for a moment, then shifted forward and placed a hand on Nines' shoulder. “You doing okay there, buddy?”
“Fine,” Nines said and turned his head slightly so that he could partially see Gavin. “You did a good job tonight.”
Gavin searched Nines face for a few moments, then said. “I’m going to teach you how to play darts one day.”
Nines smiled softly at him. “I appreciate the offer, but I can just instantly download instructions on how to become proficient at it. Most likely even better than yourself.”
Gavin shook his head. “Doubt it. And that is the least fun sounding way to learn something.” He returned Nines soft smile and ran his thumb up and down Nines' shoulder once before letting it go.
Nines turned back in his seat, and felt his own smile begin to fade as his eyes began to focus on the road, his thoughts shifting elsewhere.
When Gavin finally settled back into the seat he called out, “Hey chauffeur?”
“I think you mean ‘Hey dear friend Tina, the woman who currently has the power to total my beloved vehicle if she so chose’?” Tina answered, glancing at Gavin in the rear-view mirror with narrowed eyes.
“Sure,” Gavin said casually. “Can we stop at McDonalds? I’m starving.”
Nines laughed softly as he listened to Tina and Gavin begin to bicker over whether it was worth getting a McFlurry added to their orders, and pushed aside the unusual feeling that had nestled itself inside his chest.