Gavin sat down at the bar next to Nines, the bruises on his face were gone by now, and the fracture in his sternum was still healing. He sipped at his beer, glancing at Nines before placing his hand in the android’s. Nines gave a smile as he ran his thumb over Gavin’s knuckles. The android was glad to see Gavin moving past the very real fears of Nine’s not being himself and slowly trusting for them to be alone together. Nines felt glad that Gavin was now trusting him enough to drink in his presence. It helped that Nines kept track of any actions or phrases that the imposter had used often. He leaned down to kiss his human, pausing just before the lips and humming to himself in happiness when Gavin leaned in to close the gap between them.
He found that actions like that worked best for Gavin now. He could start to show affection, but the last bit of contact had to be Gavin. If he wanted a hug he usually just opened an arm and Gavin would give a tentative hug before sinking in. Kisses were slower going though for the two of them. Nines found that anytime he tried to rush in for a kiss Gavin would not react well, even with the two of them dating now.
He knew that in time they could move further, it just took time to heal from the mental wounds. Gavin may not have been broken in that week, but the imposter certainly had come close. He watched Gavin finish his drink before the two of them stood up. “My place, yours, or seperate?” Nines asked softly as he leaned in for another kiss.
Gavin waited a few minutes longer after Nines, no, someone wearing Nine’s body left before he ran over to the sink and spat out the food in his mouth. He didn’t want to risk being drugged again, even if his stomach ached and his hands kept shaking, he wouldn’t risk eating any of the food there. It was easy to drug all the food if you never ate any of it.
He checked the door, locked of course. Gavin turned back to the hallway and went to the other bedroom, ignoring the deactivated Traci he went back to the computer. He hoped his email had gotten out, Nine’s hadn’t seem to notice it at all. He opened it and went back to the folder full of videos.
Click. A video of him walking past the Eden Club, chatting with Tina. He was in uniform.
Click . Him inside the club, intimate with that Traci model again.
Click. At a bar, sitting between Nines and Tina, laughing and drinking.
Click. Walking down the street at night, the bright orange glow of a cigarette illuminating his face.
Click. In the club again, this time fucking the same Traci model.
Click. Climbing out of the car and walking into his apartment building.
Click. Folding laundry as he spoke to Nines.
Click . Walking outside with Nines, coffee in one hand as they spoke.
Gavin clicked through the videos, feeling cold as he realized he was the focus of every single one. He opened the email again, sending Rachel “Save me. It’s obsessed for some reason. I think it might kill me. I know it’s not Nines.” he quickly closed the email client and clicked another video. He was walking outside again, chatting with Nines. He noticed how Nine’s had his head slightly turned back, how Nines looked right at whoever was following them.
“So now you know.” Gavin froze, his blood felt like ice. He didn’t turn around, didn’t want to see the expression that body snatcher was wearing. “Come on, turn around love. Perhaps it’s better this way? No more secrets between us.” He heard it walk further into the room and he slowly turned to see it watching him with cold eyes.
“Why me? Why did you steal Nine’s body?” He wished he knew where they were, but prayed the two emails would help them find where he was hidden. He hoped they would get there soon as he watched the imposter stroll closer to him.
It just tilted it’s head and looked over the deactivated Traci model instead. “Well he wasn’t using it anyways, so I took it. Plus it’s a much better body don’t you think?” It ran a hand over the shoulder and neck of the Traci model. “A face only shared by a rare few, not a dime a dozen like this shell.” His lips twisted into a snarl and he shoved down the Traci model. “A body only used for the pleasure of others. To be used and discarded on a whim.”
Gavin gulped and stood up, keeping an eye on the Traci. “Why me? What made you choose me?”
“Why because we’re meant to be together. Don’t you see? I love you Gavin, I love you and I couldn’t just let anyone get between us.” It walked over to him, placing it’s fingers just below his chin and tilting him up to look at it better. “Least of all you.”
Gavin frowned at the android, wondering why it kept sidestepping the question. “So what? You fixate on me, steal the body of my partner and what? Think it’ll all end well?” He grunted as it gripped his jaw tightly. “Well though news fuck, it doesn’t end well for you.” He hissed out through his teeth. He expected the slap that followed. He didn’t expect for the imposter Nines to hold him down on the bed he hit. Gavin struggled against the android, kicking and throwing elbows as best he could. “Get the fuck off me!”
The fake Nines braced an arm across Gavin’s back as he pinned him to the bed. “No. It’s time to really teach you some manners!” It reached down to unbuckle his pants as Gavin fought harder. “I had hoped our first time in this body would have you a little more willing, but if I have to break you first. I will.” Gavin shouted and kicked as hard as he could. He could feel his kicks connecting, but the angle was all wrong to do any damage against it. Gavin froze when he heard a gunshot.
The pressure holding him down was lifted and he jumped to his feet, his hands quickly flying back to his belt. Gavin ran around the bed and gave a laugh of relief when he saw Connor standing in the doorway with his gun out. “That thing is not Nines!” He shouted as he turned to see it standing back up, a hand on it’s shoulder as bright blue blood flowed down the now limply hanging arm.
“I’m well aware of that Detective Reed. Nines is with Tina, securing the rest of the apartment.” Connor glanced over at Gavin, then jerked his head to the side. “Get behind me, Hank will escort you outside.” Hank reached over and grabbed Gavin by the wrist, pulling the smaller man out of the bedroom. Gavin heard the gun go off two more times as they sprinted out of the apartment.
He felt numb, like it was all a dream as Hank guided him outside. The fading sunlight felt harsh to his eyes and he wondered how long he had been gone. He didn’t say anything as Hank pulled him into a car, didn’t say anything when the older man pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his own shoulders. He didn’t move when the door opened again and the other three in the party climbed in. Tina knelt down in front of Gavin and held his hands in her own. He lifted his head finally and looked at her, his best friend. He looked above her to see Nines sitting in the seat across from him. His partner’s LED was yellow and he looked pained at seeing Gavin.
“Is that fucker dead?” Gavin spoke finally, giving a grin when he saw Nines sigh in relief and smile.
“Connor has destroyed that body and it’s previous one.”
“Good.” He stiffened when Tina lept up to hug him. She started to cry and he just patted her on the back. He felt a heavy hand on his back and turned his head. Hank had rested a hand on his back and looked at him with worried eyes.
“It’s okay to not be okay. When we got there- from all the screaming and shouting we had thought-”
“He didn’t get that far.” Gavin spat out the words, afraid to hear what he escaped. He felt himself start to shake as it dawned on him how close it had been. “How long have I been gone?” He wanted to curse at himself, he couldn’t stop shaking. He looked up to see Nine’s frowning, turned his head to see Connor staring at him with a worried expression. “How long was I gone!” He was shouting, Tina backed away and sat down next to Nines.
Connor was the one to answer, “It’s been almost a week, five days since you were first kidnapped Gavin.” Connor reached out to place a hand on Gavin’s arm. “I understand you’re under a shocking amount of stress. We’re headed back to your brothers house. Sending those emails to Rachel was a stroke of genius.”
Gavin gave a small huff, looking back down at his shaking hands and wishing they would just stop. “Yeah, genius. That thing had been stalking me for months and I never noticed.” He looked up at Nines. “You noticed though. You saw him and that’s why he took your body isn’t it?”
Nines looked at him in confusion. “How did you find this out? Months?”
“Time stamps. Videos, there were hundreds of videos. He found me, found me on that laptop with all that evidence right there and he- he was going to-”
“You don’t have to say it. It’s okay.” Nines reached out to touch Gavin’s hand, he flinched away and missed the look of shock and then sadness in Nine’s face. “He’s dead now. Connor made sure of that.” Gavin just nodded.
The car pulled to a stop and they all exited the driverless car, Tina keeping an arm around Gavin’s waist and holding him close. Connor moved to his other side when he stumbled, the two of them held him up as his legs started to shake. Gavin wasn’t sure if he said anything, but the two of them caught the man when he passed out.
“Shock?” Tina asked as Connor shifted to carry Gavin by himself.
He leaned close to Gavin’s face, LED turning yellow for a moment as the man exhaled. “Blood sugar as well. He probably stopped eating after the food had been drugged.”
Nines looked at Connor as they entered Elijah’s house. “That was three days ago. He can’t have been starving himself that long.” He turned to see Elijah rushing over to Connor and Gavin, a doctor following close behind.
Chloe quickly walked over to Elijah, wrapping an arm around his waist and placing a hand on his arm. “He just passed out. We got to him just in time but he needs to see the doctor Elijah. It’ll be okay.” She guided the man back to a seat and watched as Gavin was rushed to a bedroom with Connor and the doctor. “Connor shot the imposter before anything could happen. I know he looks bad right now, but it will all be alright. Now I need you to breathe, okay?”
Elijah nodded, eyes glued on where Gavin had left before looking over at Nines. “Does he know?”
Nines nodded. “He told Connor it was an imposter. It looks like the deactivated Traci model was its original body. It’s been stalking him for months. Probably waited for when I had a long term mission and then broke into Cyberlife and unloaded himself to one of my spare chassis.”
Rachel twitched and looked over at the group, all of them arguing what to do and how they could find Gavin. “I just got an email from Gavin.” Tina reached over and held Rachel’s hand. “He says, Still alive. Find me. Locked away in 2 bedroom replica of my apt. Deactivated Traci model here as well. ” She frowned and looked over at Connor and Hank. “Why would there be a deactivated Traci model there?”
Nines spoke up, “It’s possible the Traci android is the original body of the imposter. I don’t know why he would keep the old chassis though.”
Connor turned to Hank, aware of Elijah watching them both. “We should check the Eden Club, see if any Traci Models are registered missing?”
Hank shook his head, “Won’t work too well kid. With android’s getting rights now, it’s not just Traci’s at the Eden Club, and they don’t just work there anymore. That Traci probably did work there at one time, but could have left on their own.” He rubbed his bread and turned to Chloe. “Is there a way any of you can trace where the email came from? Even just a nearby range would help us. Tina you know what Gavin’s apartment looks like. If we have an area to search for we could look up floor plans and figure out where they are from that.”
They looked at him in mild surprise. Connor turned to Rachel, “Here, let me see the email and I can try to track it down.” They held hands and their synthetic skin retracted to show the white plastic underneath. Connor’s LED turned yellow as he closed his eyes. Elijah moved to a tablet and motioned for Rachel to send it to him as well. The two of them traced the email down.
It pinged in an area near Gavin’s apartment. Tina leaned over to look at the tablet. “That’s his complex. Why would it say that?”
Elijah looked at Rachel, “He said it was a replica of his apartment, right? What’s a better replica than the same complex. All the apartments have the same layout, only changing in number of bedrooms. It would be easy for them to rent an apartment. We just need to check out all the two bedroom apartments in that complex.”
Connor shook his head. “That would take too long, it might tip off the imposter to our plans.”
Hank stood up and brushed his hands against his jeans. “Alright, here’s what we’re doing. Connor and I are checking out Cyberlife. Whoever is in Nine’s spare body had to get it from there, right? Chloe, how are your fighting skills?”
“Elijah has me preprogrammed with several hundred different fighting styles, and my programming is upgraded whenever possible.” She blinked and turned to glance at Elijah before looking back at Hank. “You want me to go back out there?”
“Yeah, I want you to stick with Tina and Nines. Rachel’s a civilian, she’s mixed up enough in this already. I want us to come up with a code or something so we know no one’s been compromised, or in Nine’s case, switched. We don’t know how this fuck is body hopping, so keep on your toes alright? Tina, you’re going to take Nines and Chloe and check out The Eden Club. It’s possible that Traci model came from there, check out the place, see if anyone knows anything.”
They nodded and began to part ways, Hank and Connor left for Cyberlife. Elijah pulled Tina aside before they headed out. “You’re Gavin’s best friend, Tina. I’m sure you already know of his- after work activities?” She nodded, reaching out to squeeze Elijah’s shoulder.
She gave him a weak smile that he didn’t return. “I know, I’ll try to keep his secrets as best I can.” She frowned and glanced back over to the rest of their group, making sure they weren’t listening to the conversation at all. “If the Traci model is the imposters original body, I’m sure we know why he choose Gavin.”
“Gavin probably rented him at some time or another.” Elijah winced a bit at the words, not comfortable thinking them, let alone saying it. He gave a grunt of surprise when Tina pulled him in for a tight hug.
“Hey. We’ll find him, we’ll kick some ass, and it’ll all be alright. Okay?” She let go of the taller man and ran her hands over his arms in what she hoped to be a soothing manner. “Now, you can keep company with Rachel. I’m sure she can tell you all the other shit your brother gets up to in his off time.”
He finally gave her a small smile. “I’m sure I don’t need her to tell me how bad of a singer Gavin is when he’s drinking with you Tina.”
She let go of Elijah and turned to leave with Nines and Chloe. “We’ll bring him back. I promise Eli.”
Nines shook Gavin awake, he slowly blinked his eyes open and looked up and the android. “What?” Then after a moment he realized where he was, the smaller man jumped to the side out of Nine’s reach and scooted against the wall. He looked at Nines and tried to calm his heart and breathing.
Nines just stood back up and watched Gavin with those cold grey eyes. “Breakfast is ready. I’m heading out. Do not try to escape of I will be forced to punish you.” He gave a smile and tilted his head to the side, “We wouldn’t want that now would we?” He turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Gavin slowly climbed off the bed and stepped closer to the door. He waited and listened for Nines to leave the apartment, house, whatever they were in. After he heard the front door shut he leaves the room, still looking around in worry that Nines would show up out of nowhere. After a moment Gavin turned back to his bedroom, looking around and seeing there was another door in his room. Curious he walked towards it and opened the door, it’s a closet filled with different clothes. All of them in his size. Gavin frowned as he eyed the clothes, but he’d been in the same ones for who knows how long.
He eventually picked some clothes for himself and went to shower. As he undressed he grimaced at the bruises that pulled and ached. He quickly showered, still unnerved by the products being the same as his own. After he finished his shower and dressed he left the bathroom and looked around the hallway again. He hadn’t heard Nines come back into the place but it never hurt to be wary. When he didn’t hear anything he decided to check the room that had been locked. To his surprise it opened easily.
It was a plain looking bedroom, but what had caught Gavin’s attention was the male Traci model android sitting in a chair next to the full size bed. He walked over to it slowly, wondering if this Traci model was a prisoner as well. As he came up to it he realized it looked very familiar, he ran his fingers over the dark LED on the side of its face. It was deactivated, but he wasn’t sure why. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something and turned his head. A long black wire was sticking out the back of the android’s neck. He looked at the laptop sitting next to it.
Gavin smiled to himself, this could be his chance. He quickly turned it on and tried logging in to his email and blinked in surprise. Everything was already logged in as him. He went to the instant messenger and found most of his contacts were blocked. Frowning he tried to remember Rachel’s email address. He typed in what he thought it was and sent a short message. “Still alive. Find me. Locked away in 2 bedroom replica of my apt. Deactivated Traci model here as well.” He sent it, praying that Nines wouldn’t find out about it and looked at some files on the computer.
There were videos on there. He opened one up and gasped in surprise. It was a clip of him walking around the Eden club. Gavin clicked another video, it showed him selecting someone in a tube and walking to a private room with them. He felt dread settle into his stomach as he watched the video of himself being fucked by the Traci model android he had rented. He turned and looked at the deactivated model sitting next to him before opening another video. In the video he was getting dressed again and brushing off the android’s attempts at conversation before leaving the room. The video ended right after the Traci model climbed back into the tube and he saw the reflection in the glass. It was the same model occupying the bedroom.
He quickly closed out all the files and left the room, making sure the door was firmly shut behind him. He felt dizzy, confused as he walked down the hallway and settled down on the couch. Was the Traci model in Nine’s body? Did that mean the android that had kidnapped him wasn’t his partner? Was Nines hidden away somewhere as well? Gavin felt slightly sick, he had never given thought to any visits to the Eden club, how long had this model been watching him? How long had it been in Nines body?
He sat up quickly when he heard the chime of the electronic lock turning off. Gavin climbed up to his feet and rushed over to the kitchen to grab a knife. He quickly hid it behind his back and watched with narrowed eyes as Nines opened the door. Gavin rushed to the android with the knife and stabbed him in the arm. Nines had raised an arm to block the hit, he punched Gavin with his other arm and knocked the human to the ground. Nines knelt down with a knee on Gavin’s chest, pinning the human as he looked at the knife sticking out of his arm. The blue blood dripped onto Gavin’s face as the human tried to shove him away.
“You attacked me? Is this how you show your love Gavin? I provide so much for you and you respond with a knife?” Nines crouched down further and looked Gavin in the eyes, a hand firmly grasping his jaw and holding his head still. “What do I have to do for you to realize that we are meant to be together? Don’t you know yet that you love me? I don’t want to be the bad guy here.” He stood up and shut the front door that had been open the whole time. Gavin watched in despair as his hope of freedom shut on him.
Nines pulled the knife out of his arm and went into the kitchen to clean it off. He turned to see Gavin slowly pushing himself back up. He really didn’t want to hurt the human, but sometime he just fought so much against Nines that he had to hurt him. He gave a smile as he watched Gavin move to the breakfast sitting on the table. It turned to a frown as he wondered what Gavin had done the whole time he’d been gone if he hadn’t eaten his breakfast. Nines turned back to the knife wound and grimaced. He would need to replenish his Thirium levels after this.
He looked back at Gavin before he decided to leave the apartment and get more Thirium. As he walked by Gavin he knelt down slightly to speak in the human’s ear. “Try it again and you will regret it. I wouldn’t want to punish you, but I will.” He left the apartment and Gavin gave a sigh of relief when the lock chimed again.
Gavin rubbed his chest, wondering if he had cracked a rib during his escape attempt.
Gavin woke up with a start, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway, he quickly scanned the room to find anything he could use as a weapon. He picked up a hardcover book, holding it ready to swing in front of him as the door slowly opened. Nines walked in calmly, looking at the book with mild disinterest. “You should put that down Gavin. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Gavin tightened the grip on his book instead, and swung it at Nines when the android stepped closer. The cover of the book snapped and it fell out of his hands. He swore and shook his hands to stop the stinging sensation that ran up along his arms. Nines didn’t say anything and instead pulled Gavin in for a hug. He struggled against Nines uselessly as the stronger android ran a hand through his hair. “Come on, it’s dinner time.” He wrapped an arm around Gavin shoulders and dragged him out of the bedroom into the dining room.
He guided Gavin into a chair and returned to the kitchen, after a moment he came back out and placed a plate of chicken and pasta in front of Gavin. He distrustingly glared up at Nines for a moment before picking up the fork and knife. Nines sat down next to him and gave an eerie smile as Gavin slowly ate.
It should have been delicious, but he could barely taste it, could barely register eating anything as his stomach churned. He looked away and down at his plate. “Your friend Tina decided to leave town today. I just barely missed having her visit you.” Gavin tightened his grip on the silverware so his hands wouldn’t shake. He was glad Tina escaped this psycho tin can, but scared she had come so close to danger. He ate slowly, waiting to see if he felt any different, if this plate was drugged like his last meal was. The whole time Nines sat there, patiently watching him eat.
After what felt like much too long Gavin finished his meal, looking up at Nines as he took away the plate and began to wash the dishes. Gavin didn’t move from his spot at the table, quietly watching as Nines cleaned, as he acted like he wasn’t holding someone here against their will. After a moment he stood up and walked to the bathroom, shutting it behind him. He noticed there wasn’t a lock on the door. He turned to look in the mirror, taking a step back in shock as he saw his face. His neck was almost completely purple, and his face had a bruise on the side from where Nines had struck him before. He turned his head and looked at the other side, there was a fainter, more yellow tinted bruise on that cheek.
He felt sick at seeing what Nines had done to him. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized how much the android had hurt him, how much had been done to him. He shuddered at the thought of Nines kissing him against his will, realizing then that he was truly scared of how far Nines would go in these claims of love. He turned on the faucet and ran his hands under the water, quickly bringing some up to splash on his face. He then reached for a towel and scrubbed his face, ignoring the pain of the bruises but needing to feel as if he were cleaner.
Then he left the room, heading back to his bedroom, all the time listening for sounds of Nines leaving the kitchen and heading towards him. Gavin eventually relaxed and sat down on the edge of his bed, back against the wall and facing the door. He curled up on the bed, wishing he knew how to escape, how to get back to Tina and how to stay safe. He tensed up when he heard Nines walking down the hallway, but the android entered the previously locked room and Gavin relaxed slightly.
He wasn’t sure how long he laid there like that, curled up and glassy eyed as he watched the door across from him. Eventually though, he fell asleep.
Elijah was forced to stay in the car with Chloe, he had tried to argue with them but conceded that they would be worried about his safety on top of looking for Gavin. He tried to get Chloe to go with them, but Nines hadn’t wanted her in danger either. Realizing they wouldn’t budge Elijah took a microchip out of his pocket and handed it to Nines. “Swallow that.”
Nines just looked at the chip in his hand. “Eli, why?”
Elijah just sighed and started to run his fingers through his hair, cursing when they got caught in the ponytail. “If you must know, it’s a tracker. That way I can scan you and know you are you. So the fake Nines doesn’t try and trick us. Connor should be able to scan for it as well. I want you to swallow it as opposed to just hold onto it so he can’t steal it from you. He doesn’t have the time to take you apart bit by bit to try and find the tracker, and if he takes you where he will have time, hopefully it’s wherever he has Gavin as well.”
Nines nodded and tossed the chip into his mouth, looking over at Connor who stared at him for a moment before speaking. “I can see the chip. Good thinking Mr. Kamski, this will really help us if the impostor tries to pull any kind of switch on us.” The car pulled to a stop at an alleyway, unable to continue down it. “Now if you would wait here.” He threw open the door and the three of them climbed out, Connor taking point with Nines and Hank following behind him with their guns drawn.
They ended up in front of an abandoned building, Connor pulling open the door and looking around. “There’s no one in here.” He didn’t know how to feel about that, they were safe since the imposter wasn’t there but the initial scan had shown no signs of life in the building. He looked at the basement door, it was open this time. “Cover me.” He pulled a small flashlight out of his coat and handed it to Hank, relying on his heightened senses to see in the dark. He opened the door all the way, noticing there was a sink, toilet, mirror, and a bed. He stopped moving when he saw the chain connected to the bed and heard Hank curse loudly behind him. “That sick fuck had him chained?” Connor didn’t say anything as he knelt down by a small splash of blood. He wiped the dry flaky blood with his fingers and placed them in his mouth, testing the blood. “What did you find Connor?” Hank turned the flashlight where he knelt down, he caught sight of the tray under the bed and pulled it out.
“The blood belongs to Gavin Reed, it’s mixed with saliva. I believe the imposter RK900 struck him in the face while they were here. Connor looked around, “There’s a few areas with dried Thirium as well, and a food tray was put under this bed.” He ran his fingers over the tray and tested it. “Gavin was drugged through his food. Most likely how he was moved to a secondary location.”
“Why would he put Gavin here if he was just going to move him anyways?” Nines spoke up, his voice tinged with static as he stared at the chain.
Hank walked over and placed a hand on Nine’s shoulder. “Probably because he didn’t have the secondary location ready. It’s been over a day. Something made him decide to act and he used this place to hold Gavin while he prepped the second place. It’s probably much better than this.” He frowned and swept the flashlight over the room before it settled on the doorknob. “Probably harder to break out of too.”
Nines nodded and gave a quick sweep of the room. “The Thirium doesn’t trail out of the room. He most likely stopped the bleeding while in the room.” He stopped in one spot and looked at the bed again. “Gavin kicked him.”
“Displacing the Thirium pump regulator and getting the imposter away from him.” Connor finished as he placed the tray on the bed. “The imposter would have had to let go and remove the regulator, causing the large puddle of Thirium we see here.”
Nines looked around some more. “There’s not anymore Thirium, was it only displaced? Damn, it looks like it.”
“What do ya mean?” Hank looked between them both. “Gavin’s fighting this guy, that’s good then. We want him to still be fighting, every moment he makes it harder for that fuck will make it better for us.”
“Unless he kills him.” Nines spoke softly, his hands dropping to his side. “Gavin injured him, but not enough to do any damage, and not enough to need any parts replaced. If he had we would have had another clue, but there’s nothing! There’s no dust, no dirt, nothing to help us find Gavin!” He pulled at his own hair in frustration before sitting down next to Connor on the bed. “We don’t even know where to start with now.”
Hank’s phone dinged and he pulled it out of his pocket before cursing and putting it back. “Hey, stop the pity party and let’s go. We should check out Tina’s house next. She’s not missing, but she just had a run in with the fucker. He showed up just as they were leaving. Maybe we can find some witnesses or something.” The three of them left the abandoned house and walked down the alleys to get back to the smart car. Elijah and Chloe were still sitting inside, Elijah playing something on his phone while they waited. He looked up briefly and caught sight of Nines expression.
“You didn’t find anything did you?” His face fell and he removed his glasses, running at the sides of his nose while he pretended not to wipe away tears.
Connor buckled himself in and reached over to pat Elijah’s knee. “We found some information, just not what we were hoping for. Gavin was there. He’s been moved. He’s injured, but he also damaged the imposter RK900. Not enough to warrant a replacement, but enough he lost some Thirium. We could check different Cyberlife stores to see if he bought more Thirirum, but the amount spilled did not warrant a need to buy any replacement Thirium. However, the drugs he used to sedate Gavin should give us some clues.”
Elijah’s head snapped up and he looked pale. Chloe reached over to hold his hand. “He was sedated? You said he was injured? How do we know he was-” He paused, not able to say the words as Chloe wrapped an arm around his shoulders and spoke softly to him.
Hank was the one to calm Elijah down. “The blood they found was mixed with saliva. I know your brother, and he’s a mouthy lil shit. That means he spat out the blood. Probably got slapped in the face by that fucker. We don’t know if it was before of after he kicked it hard enough to displace his- the fuck did you call it?”
Nines spoke up. “Thirium pump regulator, based on the distance from the bed, I would assume Gavin was pinned down and a well placed kick displaced the regulator. He should be safe from- from any unwanted sexual advances. I personally would be wary of someone with a hard enough kick to displace such a vital component.”
Elijah gave a sigh of relief and sagged against Chloe. “Thank god for small miracles. I may be the elder brother, but I don’t have many chances to worry for his safety. Normally he worries over me. Now I think I know how he’s felt before.” She rubbed his back as the car started to move. “I assume you received the text Lieutenant Anderson? We’re heading back to my place to rendezvous with Tina and Rachel.”
“You don’t think we should check her place for evidence?” Hank spoke up, keeping an eye on the slightly gray pallor Kamski had sported when he heard about the drugging. He resolved to make sure no one would tell about his brother being chained to a bed.
Elijah just gave a half wave with his hand. “I can hack the security footage of her street, I know Tina has a closed system with outside facing cameras. I have the codes to access it remotelessly. We’ll do that from my home. It’s safer if we’re all sticking together.” Hank nodded and Connor and Nines spoke silently to each other, only the yellow LEDs letting the two humans realize they were speaking. Chloe sat with her eyes closed and one arm holding Elijah close to her side. They stayed in silence for the rest of the ride to Elijah’s house.
The worst lie a mental illness can tell you is that the way you are feeling, right now, is permanent. In the moment, whether you’re experiencing a depressive episode or a panic attack or hallucinations, confusion, being nonverbal, or any of many, many symptoms, that feeling or symptom is entirely temporary. You will eventually get control back. You will feel better. It might take awhile, but it will pass, and when your brain tells you that you’re stuck this way forever – that’s a lie.
Tina placed down the phone, she had been calling Gavin several times but he hadn’t answered once and Nine’s, had been acting odd this past month to her. Almost like he was jealous of her for some reason. She shook her head at Rachel, her girlfriend who just frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe you could call his brother? I know they don’t always get along but it might help?” Tina smiled and gave Rachel a quick kiss before pulling up Elijah’s number and calling.
Elijah’s phone started to ring and everyone in the car paused to look at him. He started patting his pockets before Chloe reached over and pulled a small slim phone out of his shoe. Hank frowned and opened his mouth to ask, “What the fuck it was doing there?” Chloe just shook her head with a smile while Elijah just answered his phone instead of responding.
“Hey Eli, it’s Tina. I don’t know if you remember me but-”
“Your Gavin’s friend. The one dating the ST300?” Elijah responded, cutting her off before she finished speaking. “I’m guessing you’re calling about Gavin?”
“Yeah I am. How did you-?”
“Yeah yeah, you know where I live right? Go there, now. Grab what you need and go there right now. If Nine’s tries to stop you-”
“Why would he-?”
“Don’t cut me off, now listen to me closely. Unless he is with Connor and Hank, it is not Nines. It’s someone using a replacement body. If he comes to your house and tries to stop you, shoot him. Then call me if you do, but right now I need you to pack a bag and get to my house. Got it?”
Tina nodded at the phone before speaking, “Yeah. Rachel started packing a bag for us when you first said to. I don’t know where you live though?”
Elijah paused for a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Hand the phone to Rachel.”
Rachel held the phone, “Hello?”
“Tell me your serial number.” She did, nodding as her LED turned yellow for a moment. “Now give Tina back her phone.” Tina took the phone.
“What did you-”
“Chloe sent her directions. Pack up, meet us at my house. I should be in the company of Hank, Connor, Chloe, and the real Nines.” He hung up and Tina started at the phone for a moment before Rachel slapped her arm. The two of them finished packing, making sure Tina had her gun on one hip and a stun gun on another. They left the house and Rachel climbed into the front seat to drive while Tina put the duffle bag in the trunk of the car. She jumped when she saw Nines step out of an automatic car, one hand going to her hip to rest casually on the gun.
She gave a small wave and closed the trunk, stepping towards the side of the car. “Hey Nines! You caught us just as Rach and I were about to head out, what funny timing?”
He kept his stride, eyes flickering down to her hips. “You called Gavin several times. I wonder why that was?”
She gave a strained laugh, as she opened the car door and Rachel started the car. “Oh that, well I wanted to be sure he remembered I was going to be out of town for a while and to check in on the fish I had just gotten! But I got Chris to offer to come in a check on my fish, so we’re all good. See you later!” She jumped in the car and Rachel reversed out of the driveway quickly. They both gave a sigh of relief as they turned onto a different road, Rachel made sure to take an unusual route through the city to throw off Nines if he were following them. Tina kept looking back to see if any cars behind them were the same. With their out of the way route they made it to Elijah’s house in a little over an hour.
A Chloe model android was standing outside waiting for them with a worried look on her face. “Oh thank RA9 you made it alright. I was starting to worry about you.” The three of them walked into Elijah’s house.
Gavin woke up slowly, his head felt hazy and his mouth was dry. Had he gotten drunk and passed out at Tina’s again? He rubbed his eyes, flinching as his hand brushed against his bruised cheeks. Bruised? Gavin’s eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. This wasn’t the same bed he had been chained to. He checked his ankle, nothing was there but a red line from the chain. He slowly stood up off the bed, looking around the room he was in. The sheets matched his in his bedroom, but without that well worn softness his had. There was a bookcase in the room as well, Gavin slowly walked to it, looking around with worry. He felt his blood run cold when he looked at the titles in the bookcase. They were the exact same books he had in his bedroom. The rest of the room was pretty bare looking, so Gavin tested the door, surprised when it opened easily. He peeked his head out, there was a hallway with two doors and a closet. He stepped out and checked the first door, locked. He checked the second and it opened up to show a bathroom. He needed to use it anyways so he shut the door behind him.
When he finished using the bathroom he looked around the shower stall, all the products matched what he used, but were brand new in unopened bottles. It creeped him out worse than waking up chained to a bed so he left the bathroom. He jumped when he turned from closing the door to see Nines standing in the hallway.
“You’re awake, good let me show you the rest of the place. I just know you’ll come to like it here.” He placed a firm hand on Gavin’s shoulder and guided him down the hallway into the living room. The front door had an electronic lock, Gavin knew he didn’t know enough about lockpicking to work his way around an electronic lock and escape. “We have all your same subscriptions here so I hope you won’t be bored while I’m at work. I also went through the trouble of finding all the same books you have at your old apartment. Of course sadly I couldn’t just take what was there, wouldn’t like anyone to realize you were missing.” Gavin could only nod as Nines guided him to the kitchen.
“Here’s the kitchen, I’ll make breakfast and dinner for you while I’m here. Must make sure you have all your nutritional needs of course. For lunch though you will be on your own.” Gavin looked at the knives sitting in the block next to the stove. He could use one of those and fight Nines and escape. The grip on his shoulder tightened as if sensing his thoughts, he couldn’t do it now anyways. It would have to be when Nines wasn’t expecting it at all. “Now that you’ve seen our lovely apartment, is there anything I can get for you?”
Gavin frowned and looked up at the delusional android. “I’m not hungry after that drugged sandwich you made me earlier.” The smile that had been on Nines face faded and a mad glint returned to his eyes.
Nines shoved him down and Gavin’s shoulder fell into a dining chair. He shoved down a curse and glared up at the android instead. Nines stared down at him with a red LED before he paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry love, I shouldn’t have pushed you. You have to understand- I drugged you so we could safely move in here. I can’t have people that would hurt you get to you!” Nines grabbed Gavin by the arms and pulled him up to his feet, wrapping an arm around the man’s shoulders and guiding him to the living room couch. “I love you, I would never hurt you without a purpose. Not like those other people would.”
Gavin pulled away from Nines and sat against the edge of the couch. “I’m a cop, I’m used to a little pain. And anyways the only person hurting me is you.” He eyed Nines as the android sat down on the couch.
“I don’t want to hurt you Gavin, but you’re acting so badly that I have to punish you.” Nines reached for Gavin but the man quickly scrambled to his feet and moved around the couch. Nines just watched him with a small frown and cold eyes. Gavin slowly backed up, getting closer to the door. He knew the android was smart, but hoped it had made a mistake. A small, simple mistake could mean escape for Gavin. He tried the door behind him and curse when it didn’t move. Locked. Nines stood up quickly and grabbed Gavin by his shirt. “Fine! If you want to be punished I will punish you!” He dragged the smaller man down the hallway, ignoring the struggles and how much more Gavin picked up his struggling and trying to catching anything to grab onto when he opened the bedroom door Gavin had come out of.
It was almost a relief to the man when Nines just threw him in and slammed the door shut. He lifted himself up slowly, breathing heavily as he listened to the footsteps walking down the hallway. Gavin sat down on the edge of the bed, curling up and setting his head between his knees. He couldn’t understand any of what was going on. “Fucking tincan’s fucked up in the head.” He gave a short laugh as he thought over the situation. He’d been chained up, literally to a bed, and now he was moved to a secondary location. He sat up suddenly as he realized, he’d just been moved to a secondary location. His odds of being found now dropped significantly.
He wanted to puke, who would even be able to find him? This was Cyberlife’s finest hiding him away, and what had previously been their finest was dead in a dumpster somewhere. Gavin stood up and paced, flinching a bit as his movements adjusted some bruised muscles. He’d made a joke to Connor once about being left dead in a dumpster, that first day he worked with Hank. Connor had gotten shot in the head and shown up again the next day like nothing had happened. Gavin wanted to laugh, there was hope. Connor could have a back up and be searching for him even now. He cheerfully plucked a book off of the bookcase and sat down on the bed to read it. He just had to wait out this crazed version of Nines, and not think about how Connor was going to save him if he’d already been beaten once by Nines.
Gavin lifted his head up from the bed and looked around, something had woken him up. He jumped at the sound of the door opening. Nines stood there with a tray in his hands. “I hope you’re going to be a good boy now.” Gavin didn’t say anything, just climbed up to his feet and clenched his hands at his sides. Nines placed the tray down on the bed, not noticing Gavin backing away. Nines stood up and stepped closer to Gavin, pinning the smaller man against the wall. “My my detective. You’re heavily bruised from that last punishment you needed.” Nines reached a hand up to trace the bruises on Gavin’s neck. He slapped away Nines hand before he touched the purple skin.
Nines snarled and slapped him. “Do you want me to punish you? Why can’t you just wake up and realize you love me?” He grabbed Gavin by the hair, pulling him closed and placing the other hand on his jaw, thumb tracing another bruise. “You know that we’re supposed to be together. I know you love me. Just as I love you.” Nines shoved Gavin against the wall and kissed him, ignoring the way the detective fought against the grip and tried to push him away. He did flinch back when Gavin responded with biting his lip instead. Nines ran a thumb over the cut, turning and stepping away from Gavin as he stared down at the blue blood dripping from his own mouth.
He looked back at Gavin, taking in the defensive stance for the first time. “That’s twice now you’ve injured me.” He frowned before quickly striding back in Gavin’s space and pinning him to the wall with a hand on his throat. “Why do you do this to me? Why do you make me hurt you? My human, it doesn’t matter how strong you are. It’s my job to protect you, to keep you safe from everyone out there. I mean just today I had to call out sick for you, of course I came in to work. Hank was gone, probably looking for Connor.” He let go of Gavins throat, walking towards the mirror instead. Nines stopped in front of the mirror, looking at his features as he kept speaking. “Everyone was so worried about poor Connor having gone missing. Only one person asked me about you Gavin. If she keeps trying to meddle in our affairs I’m going to have to do something about it.”
“No!” Gavin shouted, coughing some more as he continued to gasp for air. “No, she’s- she has nothing to do with this.”
Nines turned back to Gavin slowly, LED spinning yellow as he thought over the new information. “You care about her, about Tina.”
Gavin kept his mouth shut, not responding at all to Nine’s question. He knew already that he would be putting her in danger to speak anymore. Nines glanced once more in the mirror before walking towards Gavin and kneeling on the ground. “I asked you a question. You care about her. Is Tina your lover?”
Gavin looked at him in surprise. “The fuck? No, everyone knows she’s a lesbian.” He paused, looking up at Nines. He should know that, why didn’t he know that about Tina? He narrowed his eyes at Nines as the android turned away and walked out of the room. The lock clicked shut loudly behind him. Gavin turned to see what the android had brought in on the tray. There was a sandwich and a plastic cup filled with water. He quickly ate the sandwich and drank the water, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
Gavin then looked at the tray, wondering if Nines had meant to leave it there and what he could do with it. He held it in both hands, giving it a small shake to test out the weight. He could use it to break the mirror and get a weapon from the glass shards, but those would be more likely to harm him than his captor. With a sigh he placed it on the ground, sliding it part way under the bed. He felt tired now that Nines had left again. Gavin laid down on the bed again, wondering what he could do, how he could try and get away from Nines. As he fell asleep he realized that Nines should have known Tina was a lesbian because he’d help set her up with the ST300 that worked at the station.
Rook's Writing 