Tick Tock Part Three - Dock

The Fall

"Alright, I'll handle the interrogation. It's not like he can deny it. We caught the fucker red handed!" Reed scoffed as he stood with Nines and Miller in the observation room watching their latest suspect stew beyond the glass. They'd known about his AAL status for a while and suspected he was linked to some of the dead androids they'd found over the past few weeks. They'd been relatively lucky in tracking him down. An informant had tipped Reed off about where the guy was staying, and while checking out the area for good surveillance spots, they'd found him in the process of beating an AX400 to death. Nines had stepped in just in time to save her power core from a fatal stab wound with a sharp piece of metal piping.

Gavin Reed had decided a long time ago that there was nothing hotter than his partner single-handedly taking out a suspect, and that belief had been fully reaffirmed. Nines had blocked the pipe with one arm before tearing it from the man's hands and tossing it so hard it stuck in the brickwork like a javelin. When the suspect took a shot at Nines with his fist, he'd taken the hit like it was nothing, an eyebrow raising almost questioningly as the human cradled his freshly fractured knuckles. After lifting him by his throat and stating calmly all the different ways he could break his neck, the guy had come quietly and allowed Reed to cuff him.

Now came the really simple part of letting him know that his victim was most definitely pressing charges. They'd also be comparing her injuries and the weapon to their other victims so that Nines could preconstruct the likelihood that he was the assailant in some of their other cases, too. Technically, they couldn't press charges on that, but if he happened to confess to any of them, Reed wasn't about to complain. He hadn't lawyered up yet either, which meant they had a chance of making him slip up. He didn't seem overly intelligent.

"Indeed. I believe your more human touch may be required in this instance." It was unlikely the human would speak to him voluntarily. As an android hater, he was more likely to remain silent out of some form of misguided defiance. It was far easier to allow the humans to interrogate him while he remained in the observation room to provide support, if required. With that decided, Reed took the file they had on their suspect and left the small room. Nines remained standing at Miller's shoulder as he reappeared inside.

"Brandon Taylor...Registered member of the AAL, three counts of property damage, and ten minor charges for android assault...You're making quite a name for yourself." Reed sat calmly and flipped the file open, not raising his green eyes as he let out a series of chiding tsks. Brandon, who was about the same age, huffed and sat back as far as he could. He'd been cuffed to the table despite his bandaged hand, as was standard for dangerous suspects. "So, when did you escalate to actually killing androids? This AX400 wasn't your first, right? We have a whole pile of cases that match your most recent attempt. That's a nice, sharp pipe you left us." He watched as Brandon's lips curled almost maliciously. He was a little cocky as he let out a snort of laughter.

"That's rich, coming from you! I used to see you at meetups all the time. What happened? You went soft? Oh, I get it...The tall one, right? I bet you let him bend you over real good." Brandon's mocked observation caught him a little off guard. Reed took another look at him, trying to place his face. He certainly didn't feel like he recognised the guy. His head was shaved, as was his face. He had slightly crinkled blue eyes with the lines likely caused by stress and drug use. From the size of him, Reed was pretty sure he was on some sort of steroid, if not something stronger. "That's it, isn't it? You forget what a real man feels like?" Brandon goaded again, chuckling as he noted the tightness of Reed's jawline. Nines wondered if perhaps he should call him out for a moment before things escalated, however his thought process was cut off as he received an alert from Connor.

His LED span yellow, brow furrowing as the ping came through. It was a simple location. Nothing more, nothing less. That is...unusual...Nines felt anxious as he tried to call his brother, tensing as the line remained closed. His connection to Connor wasn't quite the same as a telephone, so he knew it wasn't a case of dialling the wrong number. If Connor is unable to connect, he is inactive. He would not voluntarily become inactive in such a place. He also wouldn't send a ping like that without reason. His location was likely the only thing he'd had time to send before shutting down. Nines pressed the intercom to request Reed's presence.