Tick Tock Part Three - Dock

A Timely Ultimatum

Gavin's brow pinched as he felt the small flick on his nose. Something soft and fluffy. His nose wrinkled as he turned his head, still heavy with sleep. He flinched as a harder bat swatted his chin and opened his eyes with a small start, blinking in confusion to see Pipsqueak sitting on his chest with almost calculating green eyes. Gavin tilted his head tiredly as he stared at him. Something felt weird. Pipsqueak never looked at him like that. He let out a small meow as he padded around on his torso, turning to sit facing Nines, tail flicking lazily. Gavin followed Pipsqueak's gaze to where Nines stood in his charging port. He stood rigid as always, head held straight where the connector sank into his neck. His silvery eyes stared ahead vacantly, LED spinning a lazy yellow as he updated his internal systems.

"What's up, Pips? You alright?" Gavin hesitantly ran a hand down his silver spine, wondering if he needed reassurance. Pipsqueak's ears flicked at the attention, tail swishing as he shuffled a little further down towards Nines and meowed insistently. Gavin followed his gaze with a frown. It was just Nines. Standing in his charging port like always. Pipsqueak let out a series of small hunting clicks in the back of his throat as a small red light appeared on the wall. Gavin's heart stuttered, freezing him in place as he watched the small dot creeping across the wall towards Nines' head. Pipsqueak hopped aside as Gavin scrambled out of bed with a whimper and dove for the curtains that Nines had left wide open, blocking the view from outside.

His heart pounded as he walked over to Nines and looked up at him in horror. The red beam had been right in the middle of his forehead. A perfect kill shot. Nines had remained completely inert. If Pipsqueak hadn't woken him, Nines could have been shot dead before they even knew what was happening. The gunman could still take the shot. He'd lined it up perfectly. The beam had been right on his fucking forehead! Drawing the curtains hadn't changed that. So why isn't he firing? Gavin licked his lips nervously as he stared at the closed curtains. He needed to wake Nines. It took him a few seconds of staring to remember how to do that. Phone! My phone! He had to call Nines or send him a message. He had to wake him up. Pipsqueak's meow stopped him with a flinch. His eyes were large and sharp as he gazed up at him from his place on the bed.

"Pips?" Gavin murmured questioningly as the sleek cat hopped down and padded to the partly open door. He paused almost expectantly, looking back before padding out into the hall and waiting. Gavin wasn't superstitious or anything, but he knew a request to follow when he saw one. It was fucking weird. Pipsqueak was a house cat. An android, but still a simple pet model. He wasn't programmed to do complicated shit like this. It was like he was trying to communicate. Gavin followed him to his own room. Nines had cleaned up. The bed had been made, and everything was as he'd left it. That included the phone on his bedside. "What are you doing?" He frowned as Pipsqueak hopped onto the bedside table and rested one small paw on his phone. The fur on his paw drew back to start an interface.

"Can you hear me, Gavin?" His heart hammered into overdrive as the familiar voice came through the speakers on his phone. Pipsqueak's large eyes rounded on him with an awareness that wasn't his own. Gavin couldn't speak. His voice stuck in his throat and he almost choked. "Oh, good. I was worried the connection wouldn't take. Domestic pet models aren't the easiest things to hack. They're too simple. Too crude." Gavin swallowed hard at the words that mocked him in Aaron's voice. He'd hacked Pipsqueak? Would he be alright? Would it damage him? What the fuck did he want? I'm phcking naked! Gavin covered himself, suddenly shy as Pipsqueak's eyes continued to stare at him.

"What the phck do you want?" Gavin demanded as he hurriedly crossed to his dresser and scrambled for some boxers. No way was he giving this sicko an eyeful. The voice on his phone chuckled as Pipsqueak's head turned to follow him. It was sick. The fucker was using his cat, a member of his family, like some sort of fucking voyeur cam! His heart was still racing as he blindly grabbed a T-shirt and fumbled into some jeans. It was violating. This was his home! He was supposed to be safe! They were supposed to be safe!