Chapter Text
Gavin knew it was going to be a shit day. He had woken up hungover, swatting at the alarm clock's snooze button for the umpteenth time. On the way out of his shitty one-bedroom apartment, he had tripped over Stevie (Gavin's tuxedo cat) and spilled coffee everywhere, necessitating a change of jeans. Forced *behind* School Bus #18 on its multi-stop route on a two-lane road, Gavin had gotten to the precinct more than twenty minutes late, ducking the glare of Captain Fowler and ignoring a not-quite imperceptible glance from Connor. Absent from his desk, computer terminal off, Hank was evidently still recuperating from his bout with the flu.
Gavin went to the break room to fill his office mug with much-needed liquid manna from heaven. Stopped abruptly. Stared almost tearily at the hand-written ‘Out of Order’ sign taped onto the coffee maker. Shit, shit, shit. Maybe he could sneak out to the nearest coffee shop and be back before Fowler noticed anything.
"REED! My office, NOW!" Fowler, not in a good mood. "CONNOR! You, too!" Shit.
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"Minority" blasting from the Oldies station, CBD vape loosely perched between his fingers, Gavin resolutely ignored Connor sitting in the passenger seat as they drove to the location of a reported 10-76. Temporarily partnered together that morning, the detectives had already responded to a B&E, a lost-and-found YK500, and an altercation at a local laundromat. Now late in the afternoon, an android prowling around one of the older residential districts had been called in, and Gavin and Connor were the closest on-duty officers.
Parking on the side of a broad street underneath an overgrowth of oak trees, Gavin curtly ordered Connor to meet back up at the car on the hour, and they split off to cover more ground.
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Gavin stomped back towards his car, huffing in irritation. What a complete fucking waste of time. And STILL no coffee. The supposed prowler was sight-unseen, and Gavin had found no evidence of a break-in at any of the surrounding properties. He leaned against the hood of the car, sucked on his CBD pen, and waited.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen minutes.
Gavin scowled. Where the fuck was Connor? Probably dicking around with some stray dog or kissing babies or somethin'. Checking his cell phone, Gavin pocketed his vape and headed towards the last street number Connor reported to be investigating.
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Gavin had thus far been unsuccessful in his search of the surrounding area. Walking up to the wrought-iron gate in front of a house a few blocks from where his car was currently parked, Gavin pushed it open on groaning hinges and glanced around the large property. Overgrown weeds had been pushed down and out in a trail leading to the back of the house; Connor, perhaps? The gate swung shut behind Gavin as he followed the matted grass. There, on the back porch, stood Connor. Finally!
"Hey! Asshole! I've been waiting for-fucking-ever!" Gavin strode over and paused at the bottom of the stairs. Connor ignored him, staring at the door. Gavin could hear a faint humming sound coming from inside the house. Probably the central air conditioning. "C'mon, tin can. Let's GO."
Connor remained silent, not moving. "Connor...?" Gavin went up the steps and turned to face the unresponsive android. Shit. Connor’s face was blank, LED pulsing slowly from red to gray and back again. Gavin waved his hand in front of Connor’s face, snapped his fingers in Connor’s ear… nothing. Gavin pulled out his phone and unlocked it, navigating to Hank’s contact information. If anyone would know what was up with Connor, it would be Hank; Gavin had better things to do than wait around for non-emergency Android Services... like waiting for paint to dry. Frowning in concentration as he composed the text, Gavin didn’t notice the door quietly opening behind him - he’d later blame his uncharacteristically poor situational awareness on the lack of caffeine in his life that day.
Before he could hit ‘send’, Gavin felt something hard crash against his skull. Shit. Then there was nothing.