Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Nines had never known what fear was. He had only been activated a few months prior and had been deviated immediately. He hadn’t had any reason to feel fear. Markus had already negotiated android rights with President Warren, violent protestors were a rare occurrence now that everyone knew about them, and Captain Fowler made sure to handle Detective Reed before he could damage the newest member of the team. It was no secret that Gavin Reed did not like or trust androids. The stories of his incidents with Connor are infamous within the precinct and gossip wasn’t hard to come by either. Nines was fully aware of how much his new partner detested him, and yet he felt no fear, no uncertainty, nothing. It was as if he was still a machine. Of course this wasn’t true. All registered androids had been deviated the moment a peace treaty was formed, and all unregistered androids were being tracked down and brought in for evaluation. This was their job, it wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t exciting, and they definitely didn’t get the recognition that Connor and Hank received while doing their work. This made working with his new partner even more of a challenge.
“Detective, did you hear me?” Nines repeated. Gavin was sitting at his desk with his face in his hands. He leaned back in his chair and groaned, looking at the polished android in front of him. He was a spitting image of Connor and it instantly soured his mood to another degree.
“Yeah, I heard ya tin-can. We got another assignment, just like every Monday, you don't have to remind me every fucking time a new case comes in. I know how to do my job.” He rolled his eyes and turned towards his desk, his back now facing the android. He began to log into his computer and took a sip of his coffee while Nines continued to speak, coming to join the other man.
“I am well aware of your capabilities in your work Detective, but I thought I should point out that this case is different from the others we’ve handled so far.” Nines was now standing next to a very tired Gavin, who perked up at the sound of a more interesting day at work. The android starred in puzzled amusement, curious as to why this news was positive for the human.
“Different in what way?” Gavin asked, arching an eyebrow as he took another sip from his mug.
“It seems like you do need me to remind you of some things.” the android smirked, causing the other man to frown into his drink. Nines took great joy in teasing the detective, his reactions were humorous to say the least, and Nines knew that Gavin’s bark was worse than his bite. He leaned over and opened up the report on the computer. Gavin leaned in as Nines began to explain their new assignment.
“There has been a report of possible black market dealings of dormant androids within our district, Fowler wants us to go and check it out, see if we can recover the androids and possibly apprehend the suspects. Intel says that this is where they’re most likely to surface next. Possibly tonight.” Nines said, pointing to the map on the screen. The highlighted circle contained the shipping district as well as the old CyberLife warehouses, the crime in these areas is higher than most others so it wasn’t much of a surprise to Gavin that their target was located here. They spend most of their time investigating within these areas so the pair has become quite familiar with the layout, which meant they didn’t have to do any extensive research for this assignment. Nines leaned away, resting against the desk and looked at Gavin expectantly, waiting for a reply.
“I don’t see how this is much different than what we’re used to.” he finally replied, sarcasm leaking through his playful remark. “We’re still tracking down some androids so that robo-Jesus can set them free. Same story, different location.” He set his mug down on the desk and stood up, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair. He began to walk away, gesturing with his head for Nines to follow him as they made their way to the car.
Nines debriefed Gavin more thoroughly on the situation while they drove to the stakeout location. Besides the occasional work talk, the car ride was mostly silent, but it felt comfortable. Neither man had anything to say, but Nines could tell something was off, although he didn’t press the matter. They arrived at the old CyberLife docks around 5pm and found a secluded area that had a relatively good vantage point for seeing the rest of their location. They weren’t expecting much action until later in the evening, but Gavin had never been the patient type, and Nines didn’t mind getting started early. They parked their car between some of CyberLife’s old shipping crates, and began to wait. This, however, left them with more downtime than they knew what to do with. Of course they were still working, Nines’ advanced eyesight always trained for the slightest suspicious movement, and Gavin was lazily doing some research on the computer, but they were also relaxing as much as a pair of detectives could.
Gavin’s music played softly in the background as the two men talked. Gavin would never admit it, but the android was actually starting to grow on him. He was the only person in the precinct, other than Tina, who could handle his bullshit and keep up with his witty remarks without wanting to start a fight. Time passed, and the sun had begun to set, casting the car in warm orange and gold shadows. There was a comfortable silence in the air and Gavin was content. The android sitting next to him was gazing out the window, deep in thought, his LED slowly spinning yellow, oblivious to the fact that his partner hadn’t taken his eyes off of him for some time. Gavin was intrigued by him; he was known to be the most dangerous android CyberLife had ever created, yet looking at him now there was nothing to suggest he was capable of harming anything. Gavin had seen first hand what androids were capable of doing to humans and each other, yet he felt no fear around his partner. As Nines began to stir, he snapped out of his daze and checked the time display on the dashboard of his car. It was almost 7 o’clock and the sunlight was nearly gone. It was nearing time for things to start getting busy around here, and he needed to focus. He shook his head and tried to clear his mind of the thoughts of Nines that were still drifting around.
“I need a smoke.” he said coolly, and stepped out of the car, taking a few paces to distance himself from the vehicle and the android who had taken over his thoughts so quickly. Nines watched him go in silence, a look of confusion and worry breaking through his usual mask. The sudden hostile behavior wasn’t unlike the detective but it had been happening more frequently and Nines could sense there was more than his usual attitude to blame. After a moment, Nines opened his door and joined the brooding man in silence. The only sound was the crunch of the gravel under their boots, the breeze coming off the docs, and the quiet chirp of birds in the distance. Nines’ hands were in his pockets as he leaned his head back to look at the newly emerging stars. Gavin sighed, snuffed his cigarette with the heel of his boot, and glared at the android. Nines exhaled softly and turned to face his partner.
“Detective, didn’t anyone ever tell you that smoking is bad for your health?” he asked, staring Gavin down. His question was gentile but his expression showed no further emotion as he waited for his response.
Gavin groaned and rolled his eyes. “I told you to stop with that ‘detective’ shit.”
“What would you rather me call you?” Nines asked, taking note of the way Gavin avoided the question that was asked.
“Uh, how ‘bout my fucking name?” he snapped, clearly irritated.
“When are you going to tell me what is bothering you, Gavin?” Nines asked bluntly. Gavin stood shocked. Nines had never been so forward with him regarding anything other than work. He stared at the android for a moment dumbfounded.
The scowl returned to his face quickly, and more angry than before as he spat back, “Nothing is fucking bothering me, okay? This is just how I am, if that bothers you go find a new goddamn partner. I don’t need you to try and keep looking out for me.” He pushed his back off of the crate he was leaning against and went to the car, making no effort to be quiet as he slammed the door shut.
Nines watched him go in frustration. Gavin wasn’t one to open up about his emotions, he knew that, but he’d be damned if he had to sit around and watch his partner suffer if there was a way for him to help. He was the most advanced android ever made, surely there was something in his programming that could be useful to them. Nines adjusted his tie and headed back to the car, preparing to have his head bitten off by the other man the moment he sat down.
Nines’ door clicked shut quietly as he braced himself for the hoard of insults Gavin was sure to bring, but they never came. He looked over at his partner and saw a man he didn’t know. The Gavin he knew was gruff, and witty, and practically intolerable, but always ready to go when you needed him. The Gavin sitting in the seat next to him was vulnerable and small, and tired. Tired beyond his normal amount of sleep deprivation. The bags under his eyes suddenly seemed darker than usual, and his eyes looked lost as he stared out the windshield. Nines shifted his weight in his seat and opened his mouth to speak, but before he was able to say anything he was interrupted.
“Do you know what it’s like to not know what the fuck you’re doing?” Gavin murmured, glancing at the android through his fallen hair.
Nines thought for a moment, his LED spinning red, then yellow, before settling back to blue as he replied, “I can’t say that I do.”
Gavin gave a harsh laugh and shook his head. “Of course you fucking don’t, you’re programmed to be the best of the best.” His tone was rising with every word, yet Nines still sat silently next to him, waiting for Gavin to finish. “I bet you never have to stop and think about what needs to be done. You never have to take a risk or worry about any consequences. You never have to make an actual god damn decision, because you’re fucking perfect.”
Nines’ LED was spinning between red and yellow at an alarming rate, but his face gave nothing away. He stared at the detective intently, looking for a sign as to what could have caused such an outburst, but he found none. Just as he was about to ask, some movement up ahead caught both of their attention.
Two men were walking in between the freights that lined the east side of CyberLife’s docks. One of them appeared to be carrying a large case and the other a small box. Gavin couldn’t make out any of the details due to the back light of the warehouses, but Nines was able to see just fine thanks to his enhanced eyesight. He did a scan of the two men and ran them through their database. Moments later he was met with a match for both of them.
“Edward Cady and Anton Kreuger. Both have numerous criminal charges, including the illegal selling of androids and android parts, as well as red ice dealing. Could be our guys, what do you think?” Nines asked, looking to his partner for confirmation. Any tension between the two of them was now gone, as the reality of why they were here set in. Gavin nodded, pulling out his binoculars to get a better look at the two men, who were now talking to each other about 100 yards away from them.
“Sure looks like they could be. See any weapons?” Gavin asked, lowering his binoculars and looking towards Nines who was fixated on the men who were still involved in their conversation.
“I can’t see anything,” he replied, shaking his head, “but let’s not rule it out as a possibility, they are criminals afterall.” This was met by a dry chuckle from Gavin, who was gearing up for the possible confrontation. Nines followed suit and began checking his equipment and doing a diagnostic scan to ensure everything was functioning at optimal conditions. When he completed his scan, he turned to Gavin and looked at him intently. His partner was checking his gun, making sure it was loaded and operational. Gavin looked like his old self again, focused and determined, the fire Nines became so familiar with was back in his eyes and it filled him with determination. He quickly brought himself back to focus once Gavin began putting his gun in his holster. Gavin looked to Nines and grinned.
“Let’s go kick some ass.”