Tick Tock Part Three - Dock

Implantation

"I'd like to just reiterate that I think you're an idiot." Elijah frowned his disapproval as he pulled on a pair of blue surgical gloves. Reed scoffed as he whipped off his woollen top and tossed it on the padded surface of the worktable in Nines' workshop. Ordinarily, he wouldn't be in there, but as the most sterile part of the house, Nines had insisted it would be the most sanitary option. He probably should go to a proper doctor for this shit, but he was pretty sure Elijah knew what he was doing. He was working on androids all the time, and they were vaguely human shaped.

"I second that statement." Nines' stern agreement came from the closed door, where he was leaning against the frosted glass with his arms folded. He'd hated the idea from the start. Reed knew that, but he wasn't about to change his mind just because things might get a little dangerous. Hell, it isn't even a maybe. I'm definitely on the AHL's shit list. They'd released Fifty-Seven and VB almost two weeks ago, and the look VB had given him on the way out was all he needed to confirm his hunch. He was a marked man.

Since first suggesting the plan a few days ago, Hank had gotten in on it to help plan out the details. They'd found a member of the AAL. Someone Reed used to run with back in the day. Lawrence Ashton. He had quite a reputation with the AAL as one of the more violent members of the group. His page was littered with pictures of smashed up androids. Pictures he'd claimed were staged, of course. For legal reasons. He'd been pretty low down the chain back when Reed used to run with him. He'd been a follower. Pretty scrawny, smashing up androids to make himself feel better about life. He'd bulked up now, likely a mixture of unhealthy eating and steroids, and his temper had shot up with his size. He was the perfect candidate for the AHL to target.

With their man chosen, Reed just needed to come up with the perfect hook to lure in both Ashton and the AHL. Upon re-examining the victims and the footage, Reed thought he might have something. With each victim, there were particular little things missing. Physical things. Things you might not notice, or you could put down to having been lost during disposal. They were also possible trophies. One victim had always worn a watch, which Reed had noticed in the CCTV footage, but it had been missing from the body. Another had been missing an earring. Nothing special, just a plain sleeper. A small signet ring had been missing from their next victim, and their final victim had always worn a bandana. If they're taking trophies, it means they're keeping them somewhere...like a serial killer.

After finding a possible hook, Connor and Hank had stepped in to help. They had an official plan in mind. Reed had contacted Ashton to arrange a meeting. Ashton had been surprised to hear from him, especially after seeing the broadcast a few months back. He'd had him down as an android sympathiser now. Reed hadn't argued the point. The call wasn't about him. It was about the AHL. Ashton had been interested enough not to hang up straight away, at least. He'd heard of the AHL, but hadn't had a run in with them yet.

"Look, I'll level with you Lawrence. These guys are phcking bad. They've killed four of your boys so far, and as far as I can tell, you're next on their list...My co-workers don't know we're talking. They think we can catch them some other way since they've made a slip up, but I don't think so. I think we can use their mistake to our advantage by planting some bait, but I need your help, so...how about it? You want to get back at these guys?" Reed had chosen a quiet staircase inside the DPD for the call. It was a good spot because it was somewhere the android staff regularly took breaks. That they had a mole working for the DPD didn't surprise him. It hadn't been hard for Nines to track down AHL activities within the precinct. With the way some people treated the policing androids, it was really no surprise. He was pretty sure the stairwell was being monitored. Just in case it had been missed, Reed had been quite vocal in his faked argument with Nines about his plan and the evidence he was sure he'd found. He never said what it was out loud, and Nines had made sure his terminal was fully encrypted.