Connor & RK900 Part Three

Three: The Child Who Isn't A Child

"Nines! Please put me down, I know how to walk on my own!" Connor pleaded. Conan refused and even helped Connor put on his seatbelt when they all piled into the car. "I can put my seatbelt on, Nines..."

"Do I know that? Yes. Do I care?" Conan asked before dramatically breathing in. Connor was hopeful for a moment that Conan might actually listen to him. "No."

"Fuck you," Connor deadpanned.

"Watch your language! Jesus, who the fuck taught you to talk like that?!" Hank scolded Connor. Everyone gave Hank a look of sheer boredom. "Don't look at me like that."

---

The next day, the team was assigned another case. Someone had spotted an Android being assaulted and had the human decency to report it to police. However, the case had been filed incorrectly, so the case went unnoticed for almost a week before Fowler found it in one of the files that had been handed in to him.

"I can't believe this shit. There's no way we can solve this case! This isn't like a murder case where everything is still in place! We'll have to find some way to track down every single witness, along with the victim and the person who called it in! It's almost impossible for an anonymous case like this one! The victim probably already forgot what the suspect looked like!" Hank ranted to his team as they sifted through the file.

"I've already identified witnesses and the caller from a traffic security camera on a nearby gas station. I've got their names and addresses saved to my memory file," Nines informed his friends.

"Way to go, Nines," Gavin complimented Conan.

"Evidently the suspect drove off in an old red Sedan. The license plate was blurry, but I did manage to discern part of it," Connor added. Gavin ruffled Connor's hair.

"Way to go, kid!" He teased with a grin.

"I'm not a child!" Connor shouted.

"Fuck off, Gavin," Hank remarked.

"Make me, old man!" Gavin responded with a smirk, cracking his knuckles. Nines was quick to diffuse the situation by hitting Gavin in the back of the head so hard that he was knocked unconscious.

"What the fuck, Nines?!" Hank shouted. "We were just messin' around!"

"Fighting in a work environment is highly unprofessional, Lieutenant," Conan pointed out.

"Ya know what else is unprofessional? Bringin' a kid to work with us, but..." Hank retorted, playfully gesturing to Connor.

"Will you stop it with the kid stuff?!" Connor questioned.

"Shut up, Connor. The adults are talking," Hank teased some more. You could practically see the steam billowing from Connor's ears as he struggled to hold back an angry scream. Then, he yawned. "What the fuckin' hell?"

"We received an update for sleep. We can get tired, though it's quite the rarity. We can work nonstop for days or even weeks without becoming fatigued. Though, it probably more depends on how hard you work," Conan explained.

"Then how hard has he been workin'? I know he don't work alone. You work with him, so why ain't you tired?" Hank asked.

"You don't know?" Nines questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Obviously not, Iron Man, or I wouldn't've asked," Hank grumbled.

"He told me that you said he didn't mind...he's been working the night and day shifts. He actually hasn't slept or stopped to recharge in about a month. Not since the revolution and the update," Conan told Hank.

"He what?! How the hell do you know this?" Hank asked.

"I happened to run into him when I was registering evidence one night," Conan explained.

"Alright then. We can stop for today. You and Gavin're comin' to my place still, right?" Hank inquired, to which Conan nodded.

"Correct," Conan confirmed. "Even if I have to tie him up and drag him."

"Okay, that was a bit unnecessary..." Hank pointed out, slowly backing away from Nines.

---

"Ya know, you don't have to carry both of them," Hank deadpanned at Conan, who was cradling Connor in one arm and had Gavin slung over his other shoulder like a wet ragdoll.

"It's no trouble, Lieutenant Anderson," Conan assured the older man.

---

Hank dropped the other three off at his house before heading out to get some food. By the time he returned, Conan and Gavin were dead asleep leaning their heads on each other, and holding Connor between them. Hank chuckled.

"I guess I worked 'em a little too much, huh Sumo?" Hank asked, petting Sumo's head before putting the food in the fridge and heading to his room for the night. Not before taking a few photos, though.