DETECTIVE

──── ⌈ ∞ ⌋ ─────                    The clock upon the wall ticked a quiet, contemptuous tune which broke the thickening silence in the air between them, hummed in time with the quickened beating of hearts pulsating, one hurried by far more languid, & Gavin’s own hastened breath. His discomfort plain as the voraciousness of his anger, the unnerved disquiet of realization when coming to comprehend the exact sort of company he unwittingly kept. A beauty without age, a pale visage veiling a monster behind the mask of loveliness, impervious to that same very human strength which served as protection, as assurance that the outside world could not harm him. But in the presence of this beast in the shadows his powerlessness was made abundantly clear, any efforts to defeat that which held him caged in luxury proven useless.

                   Those eyes which glowed in the darkness like a creature in the woods hunting it’s next prey were fixed upon him, staring him down. His hollow threats did little but irritate the night creature, whose temper churned inside his body like oceans tide in a storm, a howling thing scraping to be let out, to tear & rend & exsanguinate. But his hunger was not in control, nor would it be so long as it were kept in check, & the beast had had it’s fill this night. The lingering remembrances of a time long since vanished, of the twin who would hold such violence in revulsion & piteous antipathy cooled the smoldering of flame, the taste of his own thick copper-rich essence that played upon his tongue soothing in a way nothing else could be. Not since that night.

                   His tongue laved against every contour of knuckle & digit & wrist, chasing the static-filled sensation buzzing in his brain as wasted blood returned to him. The stink of vibrant metal ore hung in his nostrils, rested sweet & cold in his mouth. His captive patient was no longer his full concern, as Xander allowed himself to indulge & be satiated, be calmed. No doubt Gavin would run - He noted the uneven footsteps rush from his bedroom the moment his eyes lowered - back to the streets that kept him, the same that would undoubtedly be his peril. Weakened & alone, still bloodied & unkempt, the mortal man fared no better than an unfortunate by the light of day. The sun’s giving, oppressive brightness would not shield him from those who might see fit to take advantage.

                   Concern rose, yet the night creature did not move from his stop on the bed, too enraptured in his delighted visceral pleasures to consider the matter of preventing the human from fleeing as he had before. Gavin had made his choice & proven that he was indeed strong enough to walk, to run from him. All for the best, Xander concluded, for as the tingling remains of bloodlust subsided & adrenaline faded the vampire was overcome with a clear & drastic understanding of himself. He belonged alone, was meant to be alone. His insipid coddling had driven Constance away, spite lost Colin for the both of them. Where once the remnants of family had blamed the sickness for destroying what they had, in truth it had only brought the vestiges of mire to the surface.

                   He sat long & solemn a long time, resistant to the sleep that beckoned as the sun was still high in the midday skies, hot & ghastly bright. He was contented for a short moment by busying himself with sorting out the mess his guest had left, righting what had been knocked over or discarded in the haste to leave. But eventually, unwillingly, worry clouded his subconscious. The foolish bastard might have found himself a bit of shelter to recover, a safe place to spend the night. Or he could be dead. Why either possibility mattered wasn’t important, not when after a nonexistent time of deliberation was Xander gathering his jacket.

He had barely made it a few blocks before his body screamed; it protested through his darkening vision and shaky knees. He was still exhausted, drained, trying to recover now he was burning through the last of his fear and energy. He was forced to pull himself to the side, using the edge of a building as support so he wouldn’t tip to the ground. His own saliva was thick and heavy in his mouth from the gasping breaths - choking him until he spat, barely a relief. Still he made one foot go in front of the other, calloused feet already dirty and sore and likely to end up cut by the time he reached his designation. But it was all he had, no stranger would extend a kind hand to a man so weak and defeated. 

The odd looks he was receiving did nothing to deter him, he would have gotten them anyway regardless if Gavin had burst forth from a random building. They probably chalked him up to being a junkie, too far gone in the throes of cravings to keep himself private, out of the revealing light of day. Another lost soul who inhabited smog filled dens, not a man who had been dragged into the heart of a monster's territory. He felt it all, heart beating out of his chest. Caught in the intoxication of adrenaline on his strained frame. 

Nobody would believe him, nobody would do anything besides move out of his way. Excuse would fill their lips. Not that he would dare to open his own. Gavin just needed to get home, safe, secure. Alone where he could nurse his injuries and memories. 

It was an effort to push himself to keep going, but he couldn’t linger for too long. It would only take a casual stroll for the beast to catch up. He went slower, but determined to get out of a neighborhood that didn’t suit the likes of him. Too formal, too clean, too far away from the mess he called home. Even when he believed to be on the right track, the next corner would simply face him with another alien road. Chin up, Gavin trekked on. What he wouldn’t give just for some water, let alone to get back to his own bed in the safety of his small home. Fantasies at this point as just the day dragged on. 

Sweat soaked his clothes, blood seeping through the bandages. It wore at him alongside the gnawing hunger in his stomach, bile churning. He could hardly feel it past the nagging feeling of exhaustion that swamped his senses - making his mouth full of the taste of iron and dots dance before his eyes. They blocked out the sight of the empty road before him, creeping in at the edges even until he pitched to the side. 

His limbs were too heavy to do much besides send a few unresponsive twitches to his fingers, legs tangled in something he couldn’t see. Even the purpling sky eluded him as his eyes rolled back, sinking into darkness as his body shut down. 

Gavin had thrown his hands up, pacing in the confined space of the observation room like the animal frothing at the mouth. He felt that way, like a mutt barking at the wall. His usual attitude was enough to get most people crack, either when someone else came in or because they wanted to keep all their teeth. But this guy just stared.

Arms crossed over his chest, eyes flicking up and over Allen, sneering. Too many new faces, too many people sticking their noses into his cases like he was some greenie or fuck up. Suspicious, nasty, ready to drive the other man away for simply loitering too close.

Gavin cast the android a look out of the corner of his eye, lips impulsively curling up into a sneer and hunching over further. He knew he should have slunk off towards the paramedics when he had the chance, at least to see if the slice was deep enough to require stitches. He had the pushing feeling that it did. Oh well … too late. 

previously. // @caffeihated

     Hana nodded at his words, but she knew she could solve it. It felt like the answer was right under her nose and she was too dumb to see it. “I know I can solve it! I’ll give it a couple of days, otherwise, I’ll drop it, but…” She shook her head. Hana hated to declare a cold case and just storing it in the archives of the DPD to be forgotten. 

     She looked at Gavin, scratching her cheek. “Do you… Would you like to take a look at it? When we’re back at the precinct?” She chewed her bottom lip. Maybe with a fresh eye they could find something she had overlooked or hadn’t thought about it and she wouldn’t have to drop the case so soon.

The offer got a rough snort from him, breaking the moment as he shook his head. 

“ I told you, I didn’t take that case for a reason. “

He stepped forward, picking up a coffee as it was placed on the counter top. He offered the barista a nod of thanks as he took a deep gulp, and then swirled the coffee in the cup. His head was jerked towards the next cup that followed, hers. Gavin didn’t wait as he left the cafe, fishing his keys out of his pocket as he went. 

“No he doesn’t, he saw them more as pieces of artwork to collect.” The man had only shown sexual interest in Seven. He collected them mainly for show, saw it as a hobby, would prattle on and on how androids were like the marble statues that were akin to the ones created in ancient Greece. How the androids needed to be displayed for their beauty, but the man was a completionist.

He wanted all the androids he could get his hands on, and that included the rare RK line.

“I know him from my time spent with Kamski.”

“ I’ve used a blacklight before - don’t underestimate the shit people do to their stuff. “ 

Gavin commented back, biting his tongue against a shudder. But still, after a few more taps at his keyboard - rotating through a few more photos which brought nothing to light - he turned his monitor towards Seven.