Partners [Path Unlocked 🔓]

Chapter 5 - Wading the Trepidatious Waters of Partnership

Connor remained quiet as he made his way down the low rising steps separating Amanda's slightly raised office from the rest of the DPD, shoulders hunched and gaze locked steadily downwards even as they came to a halt just in front of his own desk and the detective all but dropped his body into the standard issue office chair. The man's limbs hung in a manner that suggested a heavy weight pulled down upon them as Detective Anderson let out a low groan and brought one hand up to press two fingers into his forehead, massaging his temple in a sure indication of an oncoming headache.

Hank observed the behavior silently, taking in the slight wince that passed over Connor's face and running a quick scan of the man to bring up a list of salt levels, body temperature, heart rate, and any other such pertinent stats that might clue the android in to the cause of the sudden disturbance. While water levels were a little on the low side and stress levels were admittedly well more than a touch over where their normal resting rate should optimally sit, the only mark of immediate concern were the startlingly low energy levels picked up by the machine's advanced sensors, calculations discerning that Detective Anderson couldn't have gotten more than an hour or so of sleep the previous evening.

"Detective Anderson, you seem to be experiencing some amount of discomfort." Hank began clinically, carefully detached as always even as Connor lifted his head slightly to gaze questioningly at the android around his hand still pressed into his forehead. "Your headache is likely due to a concerning lack of sleep but may also stem from tension caused by anxiety or being overworked as your stress levels are higher than optimal." The android railed off emotionlessly, deciding the need to do so probably stemmed from the low likelihood that Detective Anderson would prove to be a useful asset if unwell. It made sense.

"Caffeine withdrawal at its finest." Connor dismissed lightly, waving the words away with a casual swipe of his slender fingers as the man leaned back so that his chair tipped backwards and the front wheels hovered a few inches above the tile floor. "We're just lucky I haven't started shaking yet." The detective snickered dryly, playing the concerning statement off with a dismissive joke as a restless hand extended out to the desk and grabbed from the messy surface a sleek, black pen with gold trimming on the tip and clip.

"If you're feeling unwell, Detective, I suggest-" Hank tried to offer a solution but was quickly cut off by a quick shake of the detective's hand, the pen twined carefully between two fingers and held back by the man's thumb as he faced his palm towards the android and brushed off the unspoken suggestion before the machine even had a chance to propose a thing.

"Get a coffee in my hand and a cigarette between my teeth and I'll be fine." Connor assured easily, twirling the pen about his digits skillfully to bring it back into his grip as he brought the hand back to himself. "Just glance through the case files real quick or whatever you gotta do and we'll go grab something." The detective went on before parting his lips and fitting the end of the writing utensil lightly between his teeth, gnawing gently at the very edge of the thing as his finger tapped rhythmically at the unabused tip.

Upon quick inspection, Hank realize the utensil was already well roughed up by light teeth marks littering its once sleek surface, as was the case for every other multicolor pen scattered haphazardly about Anderson's trash pile of a desk and the android had to wonder how he'd possibly overlooked this now glaringly obvious detail in his preliminary scan.

"Thanks for worrying though, Robocop." Connor added cheekily, throwing another eccentric wink the android's way as the machine's processors once again struggled to classify the stupid action. A cheery blue arrow plipped briefly into the prototype's vision though so the electronic policeman took no issue with it.

"Strange to give me a name only to not use it, Detective." Hank commented with the defrosters turned on to ease his usual cold tones into something a little less "I want nothing less than to be here in your company" to more like a "I want few things less than to be here in your company."